Month: November 2021

Skyports, a designer, developer, and operator of vertiports (landing sites for eVTOL aircraft) is developing Europe’s first test vertiport in France, which represents a significant step towards launching commercial Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) services in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The program is part of the Re.Invent Air Mobility initiative led by French airport operator Groupe ADP, global mobility company RATP Group and Choose Paris Region, a French agency for business and innovation. The development is new to Europe and is being supported by DGAC, the French Civil Aviation Authority and EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Skyports has been focused on the globalization of eVTOL operations, just recently establishing a joint venture with Irelandia to bring drone deliveries to Colombia and wider Latin America (LATAM).

The vertiport will be designed, built, and operated by Skyports at Groupe ADP’s Cergy-Pontoise Airfield in Paris, initially serving as a technology testbed to provide a safe and realistic environment for Skyports and members of the initiative to integrate and test the critical technologies required to enable AAM in Europe.

The integration of a vertiport within an existing airport site is challenging and complex. Skyports’ expertise in ground infrastructure and Groupe ADP’s remit in infrastructure planning, provision and permitting are an ideal partnership to implement the solution that will successfully address this challenge.

The test vertiport will be equipped with a suite of technologies including biometric identity management, re-charging equipment, situational awareness capabilities and weather stations. The data collected during the testing phase will be essential for the development of AAM regulatory frameworks.

Ankit Dass, Chief Technology Officer at Skyports said: “Technology will play a critical role in ensuring the safety and operational efficiency of vertiports. The integration of technology is at the core of our vertiport design, development and operation. At Skyports we are developing our systems in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, operators and leading aviation tech companies.”

The operational testbed will be used by leading eVTOL vehicle manufacturers such as Volocopter, Vertical Aerospace, Airbus, Pipistrel, eHang and others to conduct test flights and demonstrations over the next three years in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics.

The Skyports vertiport will be constructed using modular technology so that it can easily be relocated to a new location at the end of the program, serving as the first commercial vertiport in France.

Why it’s important: Skyports’ foray into vertiport construction in Paris and the intent to use the vertiport as a test site to iron out infrastructure considerations will help to accelerate innovations required to successfully deploy vertiports at scale. The modular design will also allow changes to structure and setup of the vertiport to occur easily, without as significant of an investment prior to the stations becoming initially viable.

Renault, one one the largest auto manufacturers in Europe, has announced a concept for its own electric air taxi, the AIR4.

Renault’s AIR4, inspired by the original Renault 4 automobile.

Renault’s AIR4 looks noticeably more like an automobile than other multicopter air taxi concepts. According to the Renault team, the vehicle was inspired by the Renault 4, one of Renaults classic automobile body styles. This choice was likely meant to demonstrate Renault’s vision to take its expertise on the ground and translate them into the air. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Renault 4.

The AIR4 is made up fully of carbon fiber and features four propellor arms each with two propellers. According to Renault, the vehicle is able to reach a cruising speed of about 93km/h, at heights up to 700 meters, all powered by 22,000 mAh lithium polymer batteries. These speeds and heights would be plenty to overcome urban congestion, as other air taxi makers like Volocopter have asserted.

The AIR4 has already taken to the air in demonstration flights. With many auto companies in the U.S only releasing renderings of their future aircraft, this choice makes Renault’s commitment to aerial mobility stand out even more prominently. Starting in 2022, AIR4 will start demonstration flights all over the world, including in the U.S in Miami, New York, and Macau.

Patrice Meigna, CEO and Founder at TheArsenale, a design and engineering firm which partnered with Renault for the vehicle, said: “After 25 years of forward-looking research, we believe that the icons of car culture are eternal, whether on earth or in the air. For 60 years, Renault 4 has been driven by ordinary people who make it extraordinary.”

Said a statement from Renault,””AIR4 is a symbol of independence and freedom, born out of the realization that traffic is compounding, lives are grinding to a halt, and the world above us is unhampered.”

Watch the original demonstration flight below:

Why it’s important: Although the AIR4 itself may only be a symbol of Renault’s vision for the future, this action on Renault’s part signals its commitment to the future of transportation as being in the air. Many auto manufacturers the world over, such as South Korean auto giant Hyundai, have already begun establishing their concepts for near-term air vehicles. With the debut of the AIR4, we may soon expect a similar announcement from Renault, as well as other European auto manufacturers.

Samad Aerospace and Aerosud Aviation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the development and manufacturing stages of Samad’s Starling Cargo, a remotely operated eVTOL cargo aircraft.

Aerosud, a South African aerospace engineering company, specializes in commercial aerostructure part design and manufacturing for international Tier 1 suppliers. The Starling Cargo aircraft will be a cargo variant of the Starling Jet, which will eventually carry passengers according to Samad. The Starling Cargo will have both remote piloting and autonomous capabilities, and will have a payload capacity of 60 kg, cruising speed of 83 knots, flight ceiling of 10,000 feet and a range of up to 117 nautical miles. 

Photograph: Samad Aerospace

According to Dr. Seyed Mohseni, CEO of Samad Aerospace, “We look forward to working with Aerosud Aviation to bring our eVTOL Starling Cargo aircraft to market for delivery during the next couple of years. The Starling Cargo aircraft will make air cargo faster, greener and more sustainable.”

Rob Jonkers, director of programs at Aerosud Aviation, added: “We look forward to working with Samad Aerospace to bring to market this unique Starling Cargo eVTOL, which has particular advantages in the South African and African context given sparse infrastructure to move cargo at medium to long distance at speed. The flexibility of Starling Cargo operations will bring a new dimension to delivery turnaround times country and continent wide.”

A Starling Cargo prototype on the runway

Samad Aerospace has reported that interest in the cargo variant of their eVTOL aircraft has come from a number of corporations in industries such as oil and gas, gemstone mining, medical logistics, and emergency response. In addition, Samad plans to use the Starling Cargo to provide humanitarian aid, such as critical delivery of food, medicine, and equipment to regions of world with underdeveloped or damaged infrastructure. 

Starling Cargo prototype Top Down

Why it’s important: Samad Aerospace has become one of the more prevalent eVTOL companies in the world. Together with Aerosud Aviation, the two companies will be working toward major milestones in the development and manufacturing of full-scale prototype eVTOL jets. Expect to see more from Samad Aerospace and the Starling fleet in the near future.

Source // Samad Aerospace press release

Czech eVTOL creator, Zuri, has completed hover testing of its technology demonstrator. The flight was completed on a 90% scaled version of Zuri’s production model which will feature cruise speeds of 200 mph with a 447 mile range.

In order to accomplish the extended range over many other eVTOL competitors, Zuri has opted for a hybrid propulsion configuration which in part uses combustion fuel sources to extend range. Zuri has been flying small-scale prototypes since 2018 and has secured funding from various private investors along the way.

The demonstrator features a large, fixed wing, has eight lifting propellers for vertical flight, and one pusher propeller for forward cruise flight.

With tethered hover testing accomplished, Zuri will take its technology demonstrator into the next phases of testing such as untethered flight, forward cruise, and eventually full transition between vertical and forward flight. To date, Zuri has received approximately $2.7M USD from angel investors, enough to fund its current phase of flight testing.

Why it matters: Zuri joins a growing list of eVTOL creators pursuing hybrid propulsion configurations. In doing so, mission range and capacity is not limited by today’s energy density from batteries, and will only increase as batteries advance. In order to realize its commercial vision, Zuri will need to secure more funding in order to complete its flight testing campaign and receive certification.

Autoflight has received $100M from “Team Global”, a technology holding led by high profile German/Polish tech entrepreneur Lukasz Gadowski, to fund the development of its safe, clean, quiet and affordable air taxi.

The funding will also be used to expand its current business and initiate the development and certification of a passenger variant according to European (EASA) safety standards. Currently, AutoFlight’s team of approximately 300 people is responsible for the development and manufacturing of its cargo eVTOL (electric vertical take off and landing) aircraft; the company claims its workforce will double within the coming 12 months to support the additional efforts.

AutoFlight plans to initiate a certification program according to European Aviation Safety Association (EASA) standards via the establishment of a European subsidiary, likely to be located in southern Germany. While AutoFlight is headquartered in Shanghai, the startup also runs a passenger flight control system research center in Europe, and an operation and test center in the U.S. The company owns a diversified eVTOL product mix, with a focus on large scale logistic aircraft and autonomous passenger aerial vehicles. Investor Team Global is based in Berlin and has already backed numerous air taxi companies, including Volocopter and Zapata Racing in Europe, Archer in the USA, and now AutoFlight in Asia.

“We are very proud and happy to join such an amazing company like AutoFlight with a fantastic team and a great founder. Air mobility is a beautiful nascent industry ready to grow. No need to build more roads – that preserves resources and nature and makes our cities more livable” said Lukasz Gadowski.

“Welcome Lukasz. That’s a big step for our company. Team Global will help us to expand R&D, certification and operation globally“, according to Tian Yu, Chairman and CEO of AutoFlight. “At AutoFlight, we are determined to unlock the skies for mass individual transport in air. Just in the past month, our autonomous passenger eVTOL proof of concept aircraft V1500M has accomplished its maiden flight.”

Related: Shanghai-based Autoflight Completes First Flight of its V1500M eVTOL Model

Tian Yu: “The AutoFlight eVTOL aircraft is designed to be safe & safer, clean & quiet, affordable & available, comfortable & pleasant. To fulfill and deliver this vision the colleagues from AutoFlight worked hard over the years and settled on a configuration and business model we believe is best suited for the above requirements. The basis of this design is a so-called ‘lift and cruise’ configuration – that combines superior range and safety with the advantages of low complexity and thus high affordability and certifiability to the highest standards of aviation safety.”

Why it’s important: AutoFlight is a highly globalized company, headquartered in Shanghai, with a passenger flight control system research center in Europe, an operation and test center in the U.S. The company owns a diversified eVTOL product mix, with a focus on large scale logistic aircraft and autonomous passenger aerial vehicles. Rapid broadening of its geographical footprint, along with successful funding rounds, will serve AutoFlight well as it continues to expand in an effort to commercialize its product across the globe.

Volocopter announced on November 17^th that the VoloCity will be featured in the upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator. The announcement occurred at CoMotion LA, from Christian Bauer, Volocopter CCO. “We partnered with the experts at Urban Movement Labs to approach important stakeholders in Los Angeles, a highly relevant US city for us. Now, we are bringing our aircraft to the city to empower people with knowledge about UAM and first-hand experience with our aircraft. We are providing this learning opportunity onsite at CoMotion LA and virtually also to people across the world on 18 November with the new Microsoft Flight Simulator release, where Volocopter is included as the first electric air taxi.”

Earlier this year, Volocopter announced its partnership with Urban Movement Labs (UML), a nonprofit organization facilitating the deployment of new mobility technologies in Los Angeles. Volocopter is working with UML to network with key interest groups on the federal and city levels. This collaboration opens the door for discussions between Volocopter and local entities interested in launching UAM services in the future.

Depiction of Volocopter in MS Flight Simulator. Image // Volocopter

“Our partnership with Volocopter expands the work we are executing as a part of the UAM Partnership with the City of Los Angeles.  This work will inform the future UAM ecosystem in L.A. using a community-first strategy, conducted with Angelenos for Angelenos. By working together with Urban Movement Labs, Volocopter is showing their commitment to keeping the community in mind, and we are proud to be partnering with these pioneers on this journey and facilitating their market entry,” says Sam Morrissey, Executive Director at Urban Movement Labs.

In January of this year, Volocopter announced its intention to bring air taxis to US cities. In July, Volocopter conducted the first-ever crewed public test flight of a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in the US. Soon, people in LA and worldwide will also be able to experience virtual flights in the VoloCity in the newest release of Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS). In a partnership with the MSFS team, Volocopter’s VoloCity will be the first rotor-based vehicle in MSFS.

“Volocopter’s vision of urban air mobility is compelling, and we are delighted to present a hands-on preview of the aircraft inside Microsoft Flight Simulator. We had a great time working closely with the engineering and design teams at Volocopter during the last 6 months and are pleased with how accurate the electric VoloCity was realized in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Starting tomorrow, flight simmers and aviation enthusiasts everywhere can experience this extraordinary aircraft for the first time,” says Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Why it’s important: The cross-branding of Volcopter’s leading eVTOL product with the digital reflection of the airplane in Microsoft Flight Simulator is another means for the aerial mobility industry to expand and reinforce its influence among aviation, and on a larger scale, mobility as a whole. Partnerships between companies such as Microsoft and Volocopter will grow the sphere of influence of aerial mobility and provide an engaging, fast-paced means for learning and interaction with the next generation of transportation methods. This also means a wider age range of audience.

Reveled in September, Airbus announced the next iteration of its eVTOL development, the CityAirbus NextGen. This fully electric vehicle is equipped with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail, and eight electrically powered propellers as part of its uniquely designed distributed propulsion system. It is designed to carry up to four passengers in zero-emissions flight for multiple applications.

As more information about NextGen comes out, this week Airbus announced it has selected Thales and Diehl Aerospace to design and develop the primary and secondary flight control computers for the eVTOL aircraft, respectively. The two flight control computers will be redundant and completely independent of one another to improve system-level safety of NextGen.

“I’m delighted to announce today the first system partnership for the development of our CityAirbus NextGen” Joerg P. Mueller, head of urban air mobility at Airbus said in the release. “UAM is a joint effort. Nobody can do it alone. Airbus is reaching out to potential partners from the industry to design and build an optimised vehicle for safe and efficient air transport in urban environments. With Thales and Diehl, we are proud to have two excellent partners with a lot of expertise on board.”

Thales and Airbus have a long standing relationship from the company’s commercial aerospace business. Thales has been responsible for developing Airbus’ now industry-leading fly-by-wire flight controls beginning with the A310 some 40 years ago. Diehl also has deep ties with Airbus and Thales and has extensive experience developing avionics systems on commercial airliners and helicopters.

“We are thrilled to see that our close cooperation with Airbus and Diehl is once again delivering concrete results through an agreement that will add a whole new dimension to air mobility,” Yannick Assouad, Thales Executive Vice President, Avionics, said, commenting on the new partnership. “With this safe and innovative flight control solution, we are working together to build an airspace environment we can all trust.”

Why it matters: Thales and Diehl’s partnership with CityAirbus brings decades of avionics prowess in fly-by-wire technology and systems architecture to the eVTOL space. With EASA working on special rules for the certification of aerial mobility crafts and Airbus’ relationship with the regulator, CityAirbus is likely to be a technological and commercial success. Expect more partnerships coming from CityAirbus NextGen to be announced as details of the development emerge.

Thomas Senkel, one of the original founders of the company that eventually became Volocopter, has now unveiled his own eVTOL concept that features a tandem fixed-wing design for optimized efficiency.In 2011, Thomas Senkel became one of the world’s first people to take flight aboard a prototype multi-copter. That original prototype was made up of of sixteen rotors that held up a yoga ball which acted as a seat for the single passenger aircraft. At the time, the group of people responsible for creating the prototype formed the company ‘e-Volo’, which eventually changed its name to Volocopter. Volocopter is now one of the world’s top eVTOL air taxi creators, having made partnerships all over the world, received production approval from EASA, and raised over $200 million in startup funding.

IN 2016, Senkel chose to part from Volocopter, explaining that although he believed in the company’s air taxi vision, he wanted to create a vehicle with increased flight efficiency and greater range capabilities. He most recently said, “”I’ve always been unhappy with pure multicopters, because they are so inefficient. There must be a better way: combining an efficient aircraft with VTOL props leads to five times more range and endurance.”

Michael Kügelgen, left (co-founder of eMagic), and Thomas Senkel (right) pose with e-Magic’s new aircraft.

eMagic, the new company founded by Senkel and partner Michael Kügelgen, have created an aircraft that has a range of about 120 miles with a 90mph cruise speed. Volocopter original aircraft, the Volocopter 2X, had an intra-city range of only about 20 miles. The eMagic aircraft features a total 9 propellers; 8 lift-providing propellers fitted onto cross-bars, and one larger ‘puller’ propeller at nose of the aircraft. The prototype has already been iterated several times, and has even undergone several successful manned test flights, having been flown by Senkel himself.

Senkel mentioned, “The tandem wing configuration gives excellent flight characteristics. It’s impossible to stall it. It softly goes into a higher sink rate when the stick is pulled, but it remains controllable all the time. This behavior is very useful for transition between flight modes.”

It’s worth mentioning that in May of 2021, Volocopter itself unveiled a higher-range, higher efficiency fixed wing aircraft called the Voloconnect, which will be capable of achieving up to about 60 miles of range. This aircraft will not replace its original shorter range aircraft, but will add to Volocopter’s aircraft family for longer-distance applicatications.

Why it’s important: Thomas Senkel’s unveiling of the e-magic aircraft further proves out the diversity of the eVTOL air taxi market. While shorter range, intra-city products like Volocopter’s Volocity have a wide range of key applications especially within dense urban areas, there will also be great demand for longer range aircraft that are designed for more medium range ‘middle-mile’ transport applications. While both approaches are certain to have success in different market segments, eMagic’s new eVTOL represents a new kind of aircraft design the will further push forward the capabilities of this new generation of aircraft.

Source // NewsAtlas, eMagic

While the end goal of aerial mobility aircraft is fully autonomous flight, bridging the gap from the current technological state of manned/piloted aircraft to autonomous operation will take time. In the interim, trained pilots for aerial mobility systems will be required, and flight simulators will undoubtedly adapt in preparation of the unique training requirements for eVTOLs.

Some eVTOL manufacturers have already built their own training simulators for their pilots to aid in system checkouts and flight test preparations, while others do not yet have fully functional simulators. Third-party groups that specialize in flight simulation, such as MOC Simulation Services, are working to develop tailor-made full motion flight simulators for eVTOL flight training. MOC’s first simulator will be a full scale, representative 4 place eVTOL configuration with 6 degrees of motion freedom.

MOC’s simulator will feature an expanded vertical view of +30°/-60° and horizontal 240°. The -60° field of view is special for eVTOL operations, because it will be specially adapted to the needs of vertical takeoff and landing, similar to helicopter simulators which require wider ranges of view than classic fixed-wing simulators. The system will use a Roll-In/Roll-Off technology for modular eVTOL flight deck configurations, similar to RedBird simulators for general aviation aircraft, which feature interchangeable panel configurations. The company stated that the simulator will be fully functional for training near the end of 2022.

Why it’s important: MOC might be one of the few companies publicizing their eVTOL simulator at this time, but substantial R&D efforts have already been made by eVTOL makers and third party simulation engineering firms to prepare for the new demands of aerial mobility flight training. With the deferral of the pilot shortage due to COVID now coming to an end, a huge demand for pilots will also spill over to eVTOL aircraft in the next 5-10 years as initial designs achieve certification. Continue to monitor MOC and other simulation providers as the training infrastructure to support aerial mobility develops in the coming months.

Airflow, the developer of one of the world’s first all-electric cargo eSTOLs (short take-off and landing aircraft) has partnered with electric aircraft expert Pipistrel to provide propulsion components.

Rendering of Airflow’s cargo eSTOL on the runway

Airflow, the all-electric eSTOL developer founded by several former members of the Airbus Vahana project, has just added yet another partner to its growing list of propulsion providers. While it has selected Verdego Aero for an upcoming hybrid-electric powertrain, and Plug Power for a potential hydrogen-power configuration, electric aircraft expert Pipistrel is now set to provide Airflow’s eSTOLs with motors, motor controllers, and batteries. These will be used on Airflow’s full-scale proof-of-concept prototype, laying the groundwork for the production version of the aircraft.

To date, Pipistrel is the maker of the first and still the only type-certified electric airplane in the world, the Velis Electro.

Pipistrel’s Velis Electro, the world’s first all-electric type-certified airplane.

The initial, cargo-carrying version of the Airflow eSTOL is aimed primarily at ‘middle mile’ transport of e-commerce goods and more. The company claims that its aircraft will be able to effectively replace many middle-mile cargo trucks that take items from shipping ports to warehouses, by providing transport at much higher speeds for only slightly higher costs, while at the same time using much greener energy. Airflow is also targeting hospitals, which often need items transported much more quickly than is possible by truck. The Airflow eSTOL will take-off and land within 150 feet with 500 lbs of cargo, fly at speeds up to 200 mph, with ranges of up to 500 miles depending on power supply configuration.

Said Marc Ausman, Founder and CEO of Airflow, “Pipistrel’s pioneering work in electric flight and their industry-leading experience in building and certifying powertrains for electric aircraft makes them an ideal partner to help us build and fly a first-of-its-kind eSTOL airplane. They understand and can meet the challenges of a high-performance system with the reliability and safety requirements of the aerospace industry.”

Said Ivo Boscarol, CEO of Pipistrel, “We relish working with partners that are pursuing ambitious and achievable goals in electric aviation. The Airflow team understands what it takes to bring a new electric aircraft to market and their experience building and flying the Airbus Vahana makes them one of the best positioned teams to accomplish this.”

Rendering of the Airflow eSTOL in flight

Why it’s important: Pipistrel is becoming an industry-leading expert as an electric propulsion developer and manufacturer. Its recent deal with Airflow, combined with high degree of success in developing and manufacturing its own Velis Electro fixed-wing aircraft, give it a higher degree of validity than many other new players in the space. Airflow meanwhile, is gaining exponential momentum towards certification through this and other partnerships, and with its strategic market positioning, is looking to become one of the first distributed electric-propulsion commercial solutions to hit the market.

Related:

• Pipistrel’s Velis Electro Set to Break 7 World Records During Flight
• Pipistrel and Amazilia Aerospace to develop Heavy Cargo Hybrid VTOL Drone for SF Express
• Airflow Receives Order for 50 eSTOL Aircraft from Ravn Alaska
• Airflow Launches an Electric STOL

Source // Pipistrel

Hyundai Motor Group has publicly announced its urban air mobility division, Supernal, this week. The division will be based on Washington DC and is tasked with bringing an eVTOL product to market with public and private stakeholders.

“In adding a new dimension to mobility, we are on a mission to transform how people and society move, connect, and live,” said Jaiwon Shin, chief executive officer of Supernal and president of Hyundai Motor Group, in a press release.

Supernal has made its intentions clear, they will not be the first to market. Instead, the company is targeting a conservative 2028 for first commercial flight of its eVTOL prototype. In doing so, Supernal hopes to take on lessons from eVTOL companies with early success and find winning configurations.

“We are working to build the right product and the right integrated market, and we will leverage Hyundai Motor Group’s scaled manufacturing expertise to ensure AAM reaches the right price point and is accessible to the masses,” Shin said.

Hyundai has been no stranger to the aerial mobility space. Since 2019, the company has been working on concept vehicles and hopes to begin pursuing US certification in 2024. Currently, the leading prototype is S-A1 which will be all-electric, autonomous, and capable of accommodating four to five passengers.

The company is also making strides in the supporting verticals for eVTOL technology. They envision an entire ecosystem which will integrate aerial mobility into existing transportation networks. Last year, Hyundai partnered with the city of Los Angeles and Urban Movement Labs to lay the foundation for a model policy toolkit and vision for engagement with the public sector.

“We have a responsibility to ensure AAM integrates with and augments existing transit options and effectively serves local community needs,” Shin said. “Developing the market — from the vehicle to critical infrastructure networks and public acceptance — takes thoughtful and strategic coordination. Everything needs to align at the same time for AAM to reach its full promise.”

Why it matters: Hyundai spinning off its aerial mobility industry into the United States and taking a conservative go-to-market strategy shows where its priorities lie. The company is strategically allowing other companies to enter first, in order to determine winning approaches by observing initial entrants. This strategy has been used in other industries such as electric ground-based vehicles, where major name brand manufacturers are now starting to release commercial products in emerging markets years after the initial entrants. Expect more news as Supernal pursues certification and takes on the crowding aerial mobility space.

Near Earth Autonomy and L3Harris Technologies announced today that they have successfully demonstrated an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capable of autonomously delivering life-saving blood and other medical supplies hundreds of miles from operational bases to medics in the field. Whole blood is the ideal fluid for hemorrhagic shock treatment in tactical combat care. The U.S. Army’s Medical Research and Development Command’s (USAMRDC) Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) sponsored the demonstration to identify ways to save Warfighters’ lives in situations where access to whole blood in the field can be challenging.

The project also addresses the problem of whole blood going unused and wasted by recovering it to blood banks in reusable condition. Near Earth successfully integrated its autonomous flight systems and L3Harris’ FVR-90 hybrid VTOL aircraft to demonstrate multiple delivery scenarios. In one example, the UAS analyzed landing areas using onboard sensors to find a safe, unobstructed location. In other tests, the ground was too cluttered for the vehicle to land, so transport pods were dropped from a low altitude hover or released via parachute. The demonstration took place in Ft. Pickett, VA, in August of 2021.

“When combined with autonomous delivery zone evaluation, vertical takeoff and landing and long-distance flight can transform field supply logistics.” Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth, said, “This project allowed us to demonstrate the utility of autonomous, safe landing in complex, unstructured environments. It is especially gratifying to speak to end users who can benefit from the life-saving applications that are now possible through this innovative program.”

This research and development initiative was conducted by Near Earth Autonomy and L3Harris and is made possible by a contract that was awarded and administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC) and the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), at Fort Detrick, MD.

Why it’s important: This collaboration effort provides substantiation to EMS and first responder roles for unmanned aerial vehicle systems, and showcases the types of use cases that have impacts on the health and safety of those in the military (which could easily be expanded to include civilians as well). Though the primary application of this technology is military based, early technological advances will eventually permeate to civilian applications as well.