Category: Events

CoMotion LA Recap: Sikorsky to Advance Aerial Mobility Vision

20 November 2019 || 4 min read

“CoMotion LA 2019: Where Innovation, Policy and Business come together to design the future of urban mobility” The CoMotion LA Leadership Conference brought together global leaders of the mobility revolution last week on November 14-15, 2019. Reserved for policymakers and industry players from around the world, the event featured curated discussions about how urban mobility is set to transform where...

CoMotion LA Recap: Sikorsky to Advance Aerial Mobility Vision

20 November 2019 || 4 min read

“CoMotion LA 2019: Where Innovation, Policy and Business come together to design the future of urban mobility”

Photo // CoMotion LA

The CoMotion LA Leadership Conference brought together global leaders of the mobility revolution last week on November 14-15, 2019. Reserved for policymakers and industry players from around the world, the event featured curated discussions about how urban mobility is set to transform where and how we live, work, and play — and walk, bike and ride. A portion of the discussions on technology and policy focused specifically on aerial mobility, and highlighted its potential as well as the companies that are leading the charge.

Key metrics highlighting the reach of CoMotion LA’s November 2019 conference. Credit // CoMotion LA

Over the two days of the conference, participants had exclusive admission to the CoMotion LA Leadership conference, exhibits, demos and receptions – all in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. The technology on display ranged from electric scooters to autonomous urban shuttles, and showcased the most advance technologies that are soon to comprise the urban mobility infrastructure in major cities around the world.

Sikorsky s-76 lifts off from an urban helipad. Photo // Sikorsky

One demonstration in LA last week featured an integrated, app-based approach to fulfill a new vision for urban air mobility (UAM). Sikorsky announced that it is working on the tech alongside Otis Elevator Company and the helicopter operator Helinet Aviation. Ultimately, the app will enable users to download a version of Otis Elevator’s eCall smartphone app, which will present them with a choice of destinations and relevant flight times.

The functionality was showcased at the conference where, after participants made their selection on the app, it guided them to an elevator and up to the rooftop of a parking garage. Users were even directed to a specific elevator by the app so as to avoid congestion, and upon reaching the top of the building, they were welcomed to a future heliport concept, designed by Helinet. The demonstration concluded with flyovers by a Sikorsky S-76D, which serves as today’s placeholder for a VTOL aircraft until quieter vehicles become commercially operable.

Why it’s important: CoMotion is a recurring international conference serving as a global laboratory and collaborative space for the future of urban mobility. It will continue to bring together many of the key influencers and doers that will contribute to the seamless integration in to major cities. Meanwhile, Sikorsky, as well as partners Otis and Helinet, are focused on adapting to existing infrastructure. As they make strides and hone in on aspects such as safety and affordability, aerial mobility will incrementally reach a point of being more widely accepted and normalized by society.

Source // CoMotion LA

Aerial Mobility Takes Center Stage at NBAA Las Vegas

28 October 2019 || 3 min read

Aerial mobility caught the attention of many in the business and general aviation industry at NBAA’s flagship event This year’s NBAA-BACE (Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition) convention in Las Vegas demonstrated the growing public and industry interest in aerial mobility and more sustainable energy sources in aviation. In year’s past, NBAA has hosted eVTOL manufacturers, but this year signaled the...

Aerial Mobility Takes Center Stage at NBAA Las Vegas

28 October 2019 || 3 min read

Aerial mobility caught the attention of many in the business and general aviation industry at NBAA’s flagship event

This year’s NBAA-BACE (Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition) convention in Las Vegas demonstrated the growing public and industry interest in aerial mobility and more sustainable energy sources in aviation. In year’s past, NBAA has hosted eVTOL manufacturers, but this year signaled the coming change to business and general aviation. The convention featured the UAS/UAM Innovation Display which showcased the numerous stakeholders of aerial mobility including: Uber Elevate, Boeing NeXT and HorizonX, Bell Nexus, Safran, Jaunt, and XTI, among others.

Bell’s Nexus prototype lures attendees with its impressive design

The show opened with NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen declaring that this year’s NBAA-BACE would be “the most exciting convention NBAA has ever hosted.” Perhaps most popular was Bell’s Nexus prototype unrelieved earlier this year. Earlier this year, Scott Drennan, Bell vice president of engineering innovation, told an industry conference, “I want it to be [full] autonomy right away, and I think the technology is there to do that.” Drennan cited the need for 10,000 additional vehicle pilots just for UAM’s early-stage deployment and how the addition of those pilots would inflate direct operating costs, as reported to Aviation International News.

Aerial mobility took center stage at one of business aviation’s premier events

Among the various prototypes and displays found at the convention, many aerial mobility and eVTOL stakeholders were recognized. This year, NBAA President Ed Bolen presented the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award to Ross Perot, Jr., who is partnering with Uber on UAM infrastructure. Eric Allison of Uber Elevate and Sky Dayton of Joby Aviation were among the keynote speakers at the convention and explained how close aerial mobility is to becoming a reality.

Why it matters: Aerial mobility taking center stage at one of aviation’s biggest events signifies a growing interest in the technology and serves as an indicator of how close eVTOL is to a commercial reality. Although many prototype’s entry to service are 3-5 years away, one can not help but be excited over the growing industry interest in the technology. We expect aerial mobility will be a hot topic at not only NBAA but other major aerospace trade shows and conventions in 2020 and beyond.

Sustainable Aviation Symposium at UC Berkeley October 7th-8th

25 September 2019 || 5 min read

The Sustainable Aviation Symposium 2019 (SAS) will focus deeply on urban aerial mobility, covering issues of technology, platforms, and other emerging topics. “The SA Symposium is a unique opportunity for visionaries, innovators, enthusiasts and authorities to connect, share ideas backed by experience, and discover new technological frontiers of flight.” -Tine Tomazic, Aircraft Designer at Pipistrel UC Berkeley’s annual sustainable aviation symposium...

Sustainable Aviation Symposium at UC Berkeley October 7th-8th

25 September 2019 || 5 min read

The Sustainable Aviation Symposium 2019 (SAS) will focus deeply on urban aerial mobility, covering issues of technology, platforms, and other emerging topics.

“The SA Symposium is a unique opportunity for visionaries, innovators, enthusiasts and authorities to connect, share ideas backed by experience, and discover new technological frontiers of flight.” -Tine Tomazic, Aircraft Designer at Pipistrel

UC Berkeley’s annual sustainable aviation symposium recognizes the global growing industry of aerial mobility, bringing forward 30 industry leaders over 2 days of aerial mobility discussions. Notably, these include Tine Tomazic of Pipistrel, Dr. Anita Sengupta, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Airspace Experience Technologies, Oliver Garrow, CTO and co-founder of Sabrewing Aircraft, Dr. Ajay Misra Deputy Director of Research and Engineering at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center, Martin A. Peryea, Chief Technology Officer Jaunt Air Mobility, and many more. For the full list of speakers, visit the symposium’s website.

The Jaunt Air Mobility eVTOL (left) and the Pipistrel 801 eVTOL (right).

Pipistrel and Jaunt Air Mobility, which are represented by speakers at the symposium, are partners to Uber Elevate, which is planning on building a large-scale network of eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) in the world’s major cities. Already, Uber has committed to launching initial tests within Melbourne, Dallas, and Los Angeles within 5 years.

As evidenced by its name, a major aspect of the conference will be discussing what kind of impact urban aerial mobility (UAM) will have on the world. The symposium is dedicated to understanding the potential of eVTOL technology, primarily focusing on how it will be accessible and inclusive to everyone. This is in line with Uber’s ultimate vision; Elevate’s whitepaper (page 81) examines the economics of large-scale eVTOL use in making it an accessible service to all.

According to a press release from UCB, “SAS 2019 is focused on safe, quiet, electric aviation solutions to the most pressing problems of our age: climate change, urban surface gridlock, and the need for integrated community and urban planning to enable high proximity aviation at meaningful scale.”

The main questions examined will be:

Which systems will win a dominant share of the market and why?
How will ‘urban air vehicles’ be made “airline-safe” and autonomous?
What new technologies are needed to converge to optimize the UAM system?
How will airparks affect wildlands, ground transit & communities large and small?
How will UAM freight and passengers make last-mile connections?
How will the air traffic of UAM be managed?
What roles will urban air vehicles have in emerging economies or natural disasters?

For 70 years, the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley has been recognized as one of the world’s leading centers for transportation research, education, and scholarship. The Institute was created in 1948 as an Organized Research Unit by the California state legislature. Today, it is the epicenter of study for all modes of transportation — from technological advances to social and environmental consequences.

View the 2018 SAS recap on eVTOLs:

Why it’s important: As the industry of aerial mobility moves forward, developers and enthusiasts can start to think with intention about what kind of impact eVTOLs. These new point-to-point flight technologies have enormous potential for improving the lives of all people living in major cities/ Conferences the like the Sustainable Aviation Symposium help explore this massive potential, and guide the path to large-scale eVTOL services available to anyone.

To learn more about the conference or register to attend, visit the Sustainable Aviation Symposium homepage.

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Transcend Air Will Be Featured at ICAO Innovation Fair

21 September 2019 || 4 min read

Transcend Air will be a featured panelist and exhibitor at the 2019 ICAO Innovation Fair Peter H. Schmidt, co-founder and COO of Transcend Air, will join the ICAO Innovation fair as a featured speaker at the Green Innovation Session to deliver his talk on “A System Approach to Sustainability, Starting Now.” According to the Transcend Air press release, “Transcend Air...

Transcend Air Will Be Featured at ICAO Innovation Fair

21 September 2019 || 4 min read

Transcend Air will be a featured panelist and exhibitor at the 2019 ICAO Innovation Fair

Peter H. Schmidt, co-founder and COO of Transcend Air, will join the ICAO Innovation fair as a featured speaker at the Green Innovation Session to deliver his talk on “A System Approach to Sustainability, Starting Now.” According to the Transcend Air press release, “Transcend Air envisions an all-electric future for aviation, and is plotting a course to get there in sustainable steps starting with today’s technology.”

The talk will pertain to Transcend Air’s own VTOL, the Vy 400, and specifically Transcend Air’s vision for future transportation. This includes implementing flexible vertipads that emit no emissions and are based in water, so that incorporation will require no concrete structures or land space. The company plans to feature their VTOL exclusively at these vertipads to reduce travel costs and traffic congestion for the general public.

Transcend Air’s vision for sustainability can be broken up into four basic aspects.

Architecture: Reduces or eliminates the need to expand airports in the face of rising air travel needs.

Strategic Geographic Locations: Puts the travel resource near where the need is concentrated, eliminating wasteful congestion.

Efficient: A distributed vertipad network minimizes environmental costs by avoiding the costs and impacts of large-scale of construction.

Future Ready Aircraft Design: The Vy class of aircraft is designed to be converted to all-electric when the technology is in place.

The ICAO Innovation Fair 2019 and Fifth Annual ICAO World Aviation Forum, held in Montreal, Canada, will be held “to excite and educate our sector on the possibilities that innovation presents, and to provide insights to key decision makers, on how they can start-up innovation within their own States”, according to the site’s website. To learn more about the event, visit here.

Find more on Transcend Air and other eVTOLs in the Hanger.

Why it’s important: Sustainability is a large factor in why the aerial mobility industry is an attractive option for the future of transportation. With rising demands in aerial transportation, aerial mobility options such as Transcend Air’s presents a potential solution to reduce travel costs, traffic congestion, and environmental impacts in rapidly growing metropolitan areas.

Source // Press Release from Transcend Air

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Volocopter Launches First Urban Flight in Stuttgart, Germany

15 September 2019 || 4 min read

Volocopter’s flight was the highlight of Vision Smart City Mercedes-Benz hosted the event at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Vision Smart City was hosted in order to feature technical innovations and sustainable transport concepts for future mobility, including concepts of carsharing and electric vehicles, according to the official Volocopter press release. The event is also part of an initiative...

Volocopter Launches First Urban Flight in Stuttgart, Germany

15 September 2019 || 4 min read

Volocopter’s flight was the highlight of Vision Smart City

Mercedes-Benz hosted the event at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Vision Smart City was hosted in order to feature technical innovations and sustainable transport concepts for future mobility, including concepts of carsharing and electric vehicles, according to the official Volocopter press release. The event is also part of an initiative of a research project by the Technical University of Stuttgart to examine the social acceptance of air taxis. Headlining the event was Volocopter’s first urban flight of their dynamic eVTOL, which can be seen here.

Exclusive in front of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart: first successful urban flight of the Volocopter in Europe.
© Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz, a partner of Volocopter, was also impressed by the showcase. According to Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, “Our partner Volocopter shows how an air taxi is turning the dream of driving into the dream of flying. At Daimler we work on the mobility of the future too. By 2022 we will have electrified the entire Mercedes-Benz portfolio. Our goal is that electrically powered cars will account for more than half of our sales by 2030. The road to climate-neutral mobility is a joint effort of companies and politics. We at Daimler a willing and ready to make our contribution.”

Thomas Strobl, Minister of the Interior, Digitization and Migration of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg, and Florian Reuter, Managing Director of Volocopter GmbH at the Event “Vision Smart City – Experiencing the mobility of the future today” in front of a model of the air taxi. (Left)
© Daimler AG

Volocopter has consistently been one of the companies furthest along in the urban air mobility industry, now working on efforts to introduce eVTOL-specific infrastructure to several key urban cities, and have also previously finished a EUR 50 million funding round this month. Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH, has been excited at the strides that Volocopter has been making recently. “Our Volocopter air taxis open up a completely new dimension in urban mobility,” said Reuter, “As Stuttgart has seen today, they fly safely, quietly and are fast approching the implementation stage. Volocopter air taxis are able to ease traffic congestion in major cities around the world, also here in Germany.”

Learn more about Vision Smart City here

To learn more about Volocopter, read our aircraft page here

Why it’s important: Volocopter has demonstrated not only a successful flight, but a strong relationship with Mercedes-Benz, as the automotive company has gotten increasingly involved with the former. This flight at Stuttgart was the headliner for Mercedes-Benz’s own event, with several key figures in both Mercedes-Benz and local government expressing strong confidence and interest in the future of the commercial urban air mobility market, indicating a promising place in the industry for Volocopter in the future.

Source // Volocopter Press Release

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Revolution.Aero 2019 Event Preview

13 September 2019 || 3 min read

The conference will be held Sep 23-24 in San Francisco. Since its first conference in San Francisco last year, Revolution Aero has become known as an established conference focusing on innovation and technology in new forms of personal and business aviation. The conference brings together a number of startups currently seeking to disrupt the aviation industry, ranging from eVTOL developers to...

Revolution.Aero 2019 Event Preview

13 September 2019 || 3 min read

The conference will be held Sep 23-24 in San Francisco.

Since its first conference in San Francisco last year, Revolution Aero has become known as an established conference focusing on innovation and technology in new forms of personal and business aviation. The conference brings together a number of startups currently seeking to disrupt the aviation industry, ranging from eVTOL developers to business accelerator programs.

Notable confirmed speakers include Joby Aviation Founder & CEO Joeben Bevirt, Andrew Collins, President at Sentient Jet, Nikhil Goel, Head of Product at Uber Elevate, Star Ginn of the NASA UAM Grand Challenge, and many more, including representatives from directors of innovation at Airbus and Boeing. See the full list of confirmed speakers at Revolution.Aero’s homepage.

Ultimately, the goal of the conference is to promote and encourage new types of aviation in collaboration with engineers, designers, investors, government, and more. As part of the conference, Revolution Aero also holds new venture pitch competitions at each of its events to help new companies find financiers, mentors, and contacts. The conference also focuses heavily on how to guide and work with regulators of the newly growing personal aviation industry, hosting representatives from the FAA and NASA, as well as accounting for financial feasibility of new ventures.

“This is without doubt the start of a new aviation revolution. New -often interconnected -technologies like additive manufacturing, nanotechnology/advanced materials, artificial intelligence, electrification, the internet of aircraft, robotics, biotechnology, energy storage and others, will reshape aerospace and aviation.” -Revolution.Aero.

Revolution Aero will also hold its second European conference in London in March 2020, following the success of its conference there last year. Partnered with Revolution.Aero is the well known publication Helicopter/VTOL Investor, which has been focused on personal flight for almost a decade.

Why it’s important: Revolution.Aero is another conference bringing together all the key stakeholders in the growing personal flight industry. Unlike many industries before it, personal flight requires intense collaboration from almost every stakeholder ranging from government regulators to financial institutions and OEMs.

Farnborough’s Global Urban Air Summit Discusses Aerial Mobility Operations

10 September 2019 || 4 min read

Global regulators and industry professionals discuss UAM industry operations at GUAS 2019. According to Farnborough International, the Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) of 2019 “marks the first time global regulators have come together with industry to determine how urban air mobility will operate.” Discussions encompassed a variety of themes, such as the safety of urban aircraft, both from a perspective...

Farnborough’s Global Urban Air Summit Discusses Aerial Mobility Operations

10 September 2019 || 4 min read

Global regulators and industry professionals discuss UAM industry operations at GUAS 2019.

According to Farnborough International, the Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) of 2019 “marks the first time global regulators have come together with industry to determine how urban air mobility will operate.” Discussions encompassed a variety of themes, such as the safety of urban aircraft, both from a perspective of regulating repeatable manufacturing processes and one of gaining public acceptance. Of course, autonomy also made its way into the conversation, as it pertains to flight path planning and accountability.

Headlining the opening day of the conference was an insightful discussion with Tim Johnson, Policy Director for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, and Jay Merkle, Executive Director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for the US Federal Aviation Administration. The two were also joined by Mildred Troegeler, Director of Global Aerospace Integration for Boeing NeXt, and François Sillion, Uber’s Director of Advanced Technologies Research. This collaboration of regulators and future operators facilitated a productive session that must become a recurring theme if the industry is to progress toward a commercially viable and mature state.

Uber’s Sillion says that he has gleaned substantial insight on how the UAM industry will operate since the launch of Uber Copter in NYC in July of 2019. The program transports passengers to and from popular destinations around the Manhattan area, such as JFK, for a price comparable to an Uber car during rush hour, and at a fraction of the time. Uber Copter rivals BLADE, who launched a service that includes flights to and from all NYC airports starting in May of 2019. Sillion also appeared at the two-day conference to discuss the company’s search for additional airframer partners as it continues to prepare for commercialization via the Uber Air platform (read more here).

The major takeaways from the discussion married concerns from the perspectives of the regulators and operators, as well as of the general public. It is integral to the success of the aerial mobility industry that all societal impacts are mitigated, of which noise was the most emphasized. CAA’s Head of Aerospace Jon Round explained that it is only once vehicles are in operation that the technology will be accepted, and not before. However, a prerequisite to commercial operation is sufficient design and testing iterations in order to minimize noise and hone air traffic management technologies.

Why it’s important: The progress of the aerial mobility industry hinges on continuous meetings of this nature, where productive conversation can be had regarding the largest obstacles ahead. Farnborough International was pleased to see the impact of the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit, and plans to continue with the event going forward.

Source // Farnborough International

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Uber Looks to Expand eVTOL Ride-share Partners at GUAS 2019

07 September 2019 || 4 min read

Uber welcomes eVTOL aircraft developers to partner in its Uber Air ride-share air-taxi service. The company has already selected six partners, but at this week’s Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) at Farnborough International, Uber said more could be added. According to Uber’s Advanced Technology Research Center Director, François Sillion, “we don’t think any one company will win and there could...

Uber Looks to Expand eVTOL Ride-share Partners at GUAS 2019

07 September 2019 || 4 min read

Uber welcomes eVTOL aircraft developers to partner in its Uber Air ride-share air-taxi service.

The company has already selected six partners, but at this week’s Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) at Farnborough International, Uber said more could be added. According to Uber’s Advanced Technology Research Center Director, François Sillion, “we don’t think any one company will win and there could be more than one aircraft on our platform.” The companies that currently have working partnerships with Uber include Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell, EmbraerX, Karem Aircraft, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, and Jaunt Air Mobility, and they all have a shared goal – to develop a feasibly integrable aircraft for Uber’s air taxi service, predicted to launch in 2023. According to a press release from Aviation International News, another U.S. based eVTOL manufacturer plans to sign an agreement with Uber, thereby expanding the list of partners.

In addition to the previously announced launch cities, Sillion explained that Uber is actively planning to launch services in U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York. Dallas may be a frontrunner due to city council members recently approving an economic incentive package which includes $746,000 from a tax abatement over a five year period and up to $8.6M in economic grants. Though, “this won’t be mass transportation, but it won’t just be for the rich either,” Sillion explained at the Global Urban Air Summit. “There will be thousands of flights carrying around 10,000 people each day in the urban areas we will serve.”

In discussion with city governments, Uber is also developing networks of “Skylines” to help determine which route is optimum at any given time for a specific flight, based on factors such as air traffic density, terrain and “community acceptance” issues, such as noise. This new technology will be integrated with the company’s future “SkyPorts” which are not just landing pads for eVTOLs, but are designed to enable seamless transportation in major cities. As such, each SkyPort is connected with public transit, has parking and charging for Uber Jump bikes & scooters, and has areas for easily connecting with Uber cars (one day to be autonomous).

Why it’s important: The Global Urban Air Summit provided a stage for Uber and over 100 other eVTOL industry players to create and unveil new partnerships over the two-day conference from September 3rd-4th. The technological and logistical progress Uber continues to make in the development of its air-taxi service is demonstrative of overall UAM industry success as it increases total market share by adding partners.

Sources // Uber; Aviation International News

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GUAS 2019 Recap: Formula One Batteries, 150 UAM Prototypes, and More

13 September 2019 || 4 min read

The Global Urban Air Summit hosted aerial mobility technologies, partnerships, and debates. Farnborough International hosted the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit in the UK from September 4th to 5th this year. The conference brought together key players and regulators in the aerial mobility industry with the goal of stimulating productive conversations between key stakeholders. “The event [included] two days of...

GUAS 2019 Recap: Formula One Batteries, 150 UAM Prototypes, and More

13 September 2019 || 4 min read

The Global Urban Air Summit hosted aerial mobility technologies, partnerships, and debates.

Farnborough International hosted the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit in the UK from September 4th to 5th this year. The conference brought together key players and regulators in the aerial mobility industry with the goal of stimulating productive conversations between key stakeholders. “The event [included] two days of conference sessions, networking, knowledge sharing and demonstrations, with the international community brought together by GUAS set to play a key strategic role in driving the industry forward,” according to the host.

Image Source // FINN

“Already today, the race is on – 150 prototypes have already been announced to the market.” Guillaume Thibault, a partner at Oliver Wyman, took the stage at the event to highlight the rapidly expanding industry and the technologies developed by companies hoping to reach the market soon. However, it’s evident that the the technology is far ahead of the necessary regulation and infrastructure for standing up commercial operations. Therefore, a main focus of the conference was pointed discussions surrounding aerial mobility operations and quantifying the market size to properly capture what is required from the regulatory perspective.

Operators such as Uber Air are eager to enter the market with nearly developed eVTOLs, but depend on collaboration and feedback from agencies such as the FAA and the UK’s CAA. The conference was an opportunity for innovators to demonstrate advances in electrification, autonomy and connectivity – all technologies that will be advantageous to the safe, reliable, and predictable operation of urban aircraft.

The company has already selected six partners, but at this week’s Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) at Farnborough International, Uber said more could be added. // Uber

In addition, there are many ways the aerial mobility industry can adopt strategies already implemented in more mature industries. These were shared throughout the two days, and included an exciting presentation from Stu Olden, Senior Commercial Manager of Williams Advanced Engineering, who said learning from parallel industries was the high point of the summit. He likened the challenges to those of the Formula One industry – reliable battery management systems, environmental pressures, and rapid technology development were all touched upon.

Why it’s important: GUAS is the first event of its kind in the sector, and concentrated more on practical engagement between the communities of interest. Gatherings of this sort are a step in the right direction for coordinating how urban air mobility will navigate a complex regulatory environment and integrate with other transportation methods.

Source // Farnborough International

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FAA Grants Approval for Drone Food Delivery Service in North Carolina

17 August 2019 || 4 min read

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for Israeli drone manufacturer Flytrex and drone services firm Causey Aviation Unmanned to provide a drone-based food delivery service. A Flytrex drone makes a delivery overhead. As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program, Flytrex and Causey will implement their food delivery service in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The program was...

FAA Grants Approval for Drone Food Delivery Service in North Carolina

17 August 2019 || 4 min read

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for Israeli drone manufacturer Flytrex and drone services firm Causey Aviation Unmanned to provide a drone-based food delivery service.

As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program, Flytrex and Causey will implement their food delivery service in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The program was implemented in Holly Springs with the additional partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation and the Town of Holly Springs. For now, the drone food delivery service will be limited to Holly Springs, but there could be potential for Flytrex and Causey Aviation to expand throughout North Carolina.

The service itself will consist of the drones, piloted by Causey Aviation pilots, following a single, fixed route from Kite Realty Group-owned Holly Springs Towne Center to Ting Park, the sports and recreation stadium in Holly Springs. The FAA-approved route was designed with consideration for residents of Holly Springs, mostly taking place over unpopulated areas, and purposefully avoiding adjacent neighborhoods, although it will cross one highway, Route 55.

“Regulation is crucial to the future of widespread drone delivery, both for safe operations and public acceptance, which is why we have been working diligently with the FAA to adhere to the highest standards of safety,” said Yariv Bash, CEO and Co-Founder of Flytrex, “We continually strive to reach new heights when it comes to advancing commercial drone use around the world. That is why we are thrilled to have been chosen to work so closely with the FAA to help this pilot take off. This is just the beginning as we expand the possibilities of sky-bound delivery.”

Why it’s important: Drone delivery expansion will be a service tied closely with urban air mobility, as the expansion will most likely involve the development of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management system. UAS Traffic Management Systems will be required for both drone delivery and UAM to expand into a large-scale service, making it mutually advantageous for both markets to take off. Flytrex makes for just one of the multiple third party companies competing to enter the US drone food delivery market, but with FAA approval to operate within Holly Springs, could see major success throughout North Carolina and the country if the service takes off.

Sources // Fox 8

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NEC Unveils Flying Car Demo at Abiko, Japan

16 August 2019 || 3 min read

Japan’s plans for flying cars by 2030 continues at Abiko, Japan, where the electronics firm NEC conducted two brief demonstrations for their developmental flying car. The demonstrations featured the flying car, unnamed as of now, steadily hovering over the ground for about a minute using its four propellers. Conducted inside of a giant cage, the flying car did not seem...

NEC Unveils Flying Car Demo at Abiko, Japan

16 August 2019 || 3 min read

Japan’s plans for flying cars by 2030 continues at Abiko, Japan, where the electronics firm NEC conducted two brief demonstrations for their developmental flying car.

The demonstrations featured the flying car, unnamed as of now, steadily hovering over the ground for about a minute using its four propellers. Conducted inside of a giant cage, the flying car did not seem to run into any issues in its brief flight. NEC has not released any of their flying car’s detailed technical specifications as of today.

“Japan is a densely populated country and that means flying cars could greatly alleviate the burden on road traffic,” Kouji Okada, one of the project leads at NEC, “We are positioning ourselves as an enabler for air mobility, providing location data and building communications infrastructure for flying cars.”

NEC is also one of the 80 companies sponsoring Cartivator’s own flying car, the SkyDrive. Read more about Cartivator’s SkyDrive on their own website here.

Japan plans to feature flying cars heavily in their infrastructure within the next two decades, with plans to not only incorporate eVTOLs in their daily transportation, but inter-island transportation, emergency relief, and deliveries all as potential industries for eVTOLs to be involved in. However, Japan will need to resolve the issues that many other companies industry-wide are facing, such as battery life issues, and regulation compliance.

Why it’s important: Japan has heavily endorsed the idea of incorporating flying cars in daily life, going as far as to fund the construction of a huge test course in an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disasters in Fukushima. With such backing, Japan could possibly shoot to the forefront of the UAM industry moving past the developmental/test stage.

Sources // New Atlas

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Sneak Peak of Gravity Industries’ Feature in new BBC TV Show: Inside Out

12 August 2019 || 3 min read

Richard Browning and Gravity Industries’ Jet Suit just got a big upgrade. In a sneak peek promotional video posted to Instagram on August 10th, Richard is seen flying his newest jet pack, complete with a wing suit and airfoil attachment to augment the already impressive setup. The post was a teaser for his segment in a BBC TV Show Inside...

Sneak Peak of Gravity Industries’ Feature in new BBC TV Show: Inside Out

12 August 2019 || 3 min read

View this post on Instagram

Peek at a @bbc show out soon 😉 Bit more @richardmbrowning Thanks to @xbladesracing @nilsenfpv #jetsuit #isleofwhite #cowesweek #flight #XBLADES #XBE

A post shared by Gravity Industries (@takeongravity) on Aug 10, 2019 at 12:27pm PDT

The man behind the jet pack, Richard Browning, has been an engineer and inventor for his entire life, and is the founder of Gravity Industries. Gravity builds “1000 horsepower jet suits” and is arguably one of the world’s most popular jet pack manufacturers. Gravity Industries was founded in March of 2017, and has grown in popularity tremendously in the last two years. Gravity Industries was not able to comment on further details of the reveal but stated that “we were testing the capabilities of the Jet Suit and trying something that has never been attempted before” for the show.

While not readily apparent, many of the technological advances baked into Gravity’s jet suit may also apply to the UAM industry – namely the propulsion system. While battery technology is not mature enough to be the sole provider of propulsion for many urban aircraft, smaller gas turbines, or normally aspirated piston engines – combined with battery packs – may be the hybridized propulsion system that bridges the gap between the energy storing technology of today and that of the next 20 years, when batteries are advanced enough to be the sole propulsor for many air taxis and small commercial transport aircraft.

Why it’s important: Gravity Industries is pushing the boundaries of human jet pack flight. Less than a month after Franky Zapata flew across the English Channel on his jetpack, Gravity is showcasing the upgraded capabilities of the gas turbine powered jetpack that Richard Browning has been refining over the past years. Advances in controlled and accelerated forward flight for jetpacks aren’t directly applicable to UAM, but the novel propulsion configurations and control laws that will aid in safe flight from one location to the next could likely be applied to UAM technologies that involved novel power plant configuration aircraft for which conventional stability and control principles won’t suffice.

EHang CEO Honored at Living Legends of Aviation Event

04 August 2019 || 4 min read

Founder and CEO of EHang Huazhi Hu was recognized for his achievements in the aviation industry at the Living Legends of Aviation Awards Europe. Mr Hu is the first Chinese honoree to receive this award. The Living Legends of Aviation, composed of both US and European members, are a committee that meets annually to recognize individuals in the aviation industry...

EHang CEO Honored at Living Legends of Aviation Event

04 August 2019 || 4 min read

Founder and CEO of EHang Huazhi Hu was recognized for his achievements in the aviation industry at the Living Legends of Aviation Awards Europe. Mr Hu is the first Chinese honoree to receive this award.

Image provided by EHang

The Living Legends of Aviation, composed of both US and European members, are a committee that meets annually to recognize individuals in the aviation industry who have “made significant contributions to aviation” Hu joins other distinguished leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Sir Richard Branson to have received the award. This year, the ceremony was held in St. Wolgang, Austria, and was hosted by famous actor John Travolta. The awards ceremony focused on the future of mobility, a fitting theme to induct the CEO of one of the most promising companies involved with UAM today.

Huazhi Hu (2nd from right), the founder, chairman, and CEO of EHang, has been recognized as the Living Legends of Aviation Awards Europe. Image provided by EHang

Mr. Hu was recognized for his efforts in helping develop the urban air mobility industry; EHang have developed some impressive eVTOLs in order to provide “user-friendly, safe, intelligent, and efficient aerial products and solutions including passenger transportation, logistics, smart city management and aerial media. “ His work has not gone unnoticed.

“I am greatly honored to be a recipient of the Technology Innovation Award presented by the Living Legends of Aviation,” said Mr. Hu. “Advances in aviation technologies are critical to the future of mobility, and I am grateful that the Living Legends recognize the central role that Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAV) will play in this. EHang is committed to improving how we transport both people and goods through urban landscapes, and I look forward to working with our partners towards building the smart cities of the future.”

Robert Machtlinger (left), CEO of FACC AG, und Hu Huazhi (right), CEO of Ehang Image: Neumayr / Leo 20.07.2019

Why it’s important: The work done by Mr. Hu and his company is instrumental in further developing the urban air mobility industry. The EHang184 and EHang216 have both proven to be exciting, innovative developments towards commercially viable AAV vehicles. This award represents a well-deserved recognition for the efforts that EHang as a company have made so far.

Sources // EHang Press Release

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Daedalean Secures Funding to Bring Autonomous Flight Software to Market’

04 August 2019 || 4 min read

The Zurich-based startup, founded in 2016, has recently secured additional investors in their latest funding round. The funding round was led by Carthona Capital, with other investing VCs such as Redalpine and Amino Capital. Three former engineering managers of Daedalean’s founder and CEO, Dr Luuk van Dijk, back in his times at Google, are also investing as business angels. Daedalean...

Daedalean Secures Funding to Bring Autonomous Flight Software to Market’

04 August 2019 || 4 min read

The Zurich-based startup, founded in 2016, has recently secured additional investors in their latest funding round. The funding round was led by Carthona Capital, with other investing VCs such as Redalpine and Amino Capital. Three former engineering managers of Daedalean’s founder and CEO, Dr Luuk van Dijk, back in his times at Google, are also investing as business angels.

Swiss AI startup Daedalean has announced new funding in their development of the first certifiable AI for autonomous pilot and flight control, to a total of $113 million USD.

Daedalean is focused on building software for safety critical avionics, integrating modern robotics, computer vision and deep AI. According to the company the endgoal is to develop and certify the world first DAL-A rated autopilot – the highest safety-critical level for a fully autonomous flight. With this latest influx in capital, Daedalean can continue their development. Currently, the company plans to release “a safety enhancing solution at DAL-C (the Design Assurance Level set for software at the major level of safety-criticalness as defined by aviation authorities)” in 2021; the software is aimed at both conventional and eVTOL aircraft. Daedalean, with partners, is conducting flight tests and working on certifying its solutions with major aviation authorities (EASA, FAA).

Dr Harald Nieder, Partner at Redalpine, said: “The Daedalean team is bringing some of the most advanced technology in computer vision and machine learning to aviation, redefining one of the biggest industries. With the surge in new aircraft models, like vertical take-off and landing, future air mobility will be much more individual, flexible and accessible. However, to make it truly scalable, comprehensive autonomy will be required. As a consequence, the big players in this new aviation landscape will be the autonomy providers. This is where we see the big opportunity with Daedalean. It’s a great case of huge commercial potential, while being strongly differentiated by technology.”

The company was founded in 2016 by a team of engineers with backgrounds in companies like Google and SpaceX. As of July 2019, its team includes 20+ software engineers, as well as avionics specialists and pilots. Daedalean works with major eVTOL companies and leading aerospace manufacturers to specify, build, test and certify a fully autonomous sensor and autopilot system that can reliably and completely replace the human pilot. It has developed systems demonstrating crucial capabilities on a path to certification for airworthiness. Currently the company is working with EASA on an Innovation Partnership Contract to develop concepts of design assurance for neural networks.

To learn more. visit Daedalean’s website here.

Why it’s important: Complete autonomy will be a key enabler for future personal air taxi services. Building the world’s first DAL-A rated autopilot – the highest safety-critical level for a fully autonomous flight — will empower future air mobility, drastically improving the rate at which eVTOLs enter the market, and bring closer the future of urban air mobility.

Sources // Daedalean Press Release

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Franky Zapata Attempts to Fly Hoverboard Across English Channel

26 July 2019 || 4 min read

In the rapidly-growing industry of urban air mobility, creativity can – and is encouraged to – manifest itself in various forms and functions of new transportation vehicles. While purely recreational for most, some regard the hoverboard as a viable mode of transportation for short-haul trips. Franky Zapata, a skilled hoverboard inventor and pilot, aims to prove that to the public....

Franky Zapata Attempts to Fly Hoverboard Across English Channel

26 July 2019 || 4 min read

Photo // Getty Images

110 years ago, French inventor Louis Blériot made the world’s first crossing of the English Channel via airplane. To honor the achievement, inventor Franky Zapata (also French) recently attempted to make his own cross-Channel trip on a jet-powered flying hoverboard.

The 40-year old Frenchman took off from Sangatte at around 9 am local time (3 am EST), hoping to make the 22-mile crossing in time for the 110th anniversary of the first aerial crossing of the English Channel. He was about 11 miles out from the finish line at St. Margaret’s Bay, England when he crashed during a mid-Channel refueling attempt.

Some footage from the flight and an interview with Zapata can be seen in this video from The Guardian:

Zapata missed the refueling platform, which was mounted on a boat, while trying to pick up a second pack of kerosene fuel. Zapata was uninjured, but the flyboard was damaged in the crash. “When I got closer to the platform, the boat took a wave and it hit the foot of the machine and broke it,” Zapata said in a press conference, “The flyboard is damaged, the electronic part has to be redone, the motors are ruined but the base is saved”.

For the 21 mile trip, Zapata needed to make the refueling stop at the 11 mile mark. He had planned to hover above the support boat during refueling rather than landing so that he could claim a complete channel flight. Although the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, Zapata previously had recognized the boldness of the venture, saying, ““It won’t be easy at all, and I reckon I’ve a 30 percent chance of succeeding.”

Zapata, a jetski champion-turned-inventor, recently showed off his newest invention at Paris’ Bastille Day. According to Zapata, that flight only used “3% of the machine’s capabilities”, while the flight across the English Channel required 99%.

Watch the video of the successful flight on Bastille Day below:

The Flyboard Air has five mini turbo engines, can run autonomously for a maximum of 10 minutes, and can reach speeds of up to 118mph (190km/h) at full capacity.

Why it’s important: The French armed forces minister has articulated a foreseen potential for both cargo and military applications of hoverboard technologies. Although the cross-channel flight was ultimately a failure, it does much to prove the potential for the Flyboard Air and helps its development process. This could lead to further funding for the project, adding to the €1.3 million grant Zapata already received from the French government in 2018.

Content and Media sources // Futurism; The Guardian, CNN

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Founder and CEO of EHang Huazhi Hu was recognized for his achievements in the aviation industry at the Living Legends of Aviation Awards Europe. Mr Hu is the first Chinese honoree to receive this award.

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