Category: Infrastructure

Salt Lake City, UT based Altaport shared on December 20th the completion of their vertiport automation system (VAS) platform which will facilitate the future of travel by automating ground infrastructure operations at airports, heliports, and vertiports. Altaport’s platform controls a range of activities on behalf of ground infrastructure managers, including resource management and scheduling, ground movement safety monitoring, passenger management, and fee collection.

Altaport was launched within the Philo Ventures startup studio and was co-founded by former Airbus and Google employees who saw the need to prepare today’s ground infrastructure for the future of high-volume eVTOL and cargo drone traffic.

Altaport’s offering from their most recent press release is “a robust, interoperable vertiport operating and communications system” which will be crucial to manage a high amount of interactions between vertiports and operators, as outlined in NASA’s July 2021 report titled “Vertiport Automation Software Architecture and Requirements.”

Altaport’s platform both reflects and builds upon the system outlined in NASA’s VAS whitepaper. “We’ve spent more than a decade building and launching operations that are highly reflective of what future AAM operations will look like, giving us unique insight into the challenges and opportunities that such operations present,” said Cozzens. “The Altaport team has combined the learnings from those experiences with the technical standards established by the industry to date to build the leading vertiport automation platform. When the first eVTOLs begin commercial operations, Altaport will be prepared to serve landing locations around the world.”

Altaport’s platform is currently used at numerous major heliports throughout Brazil, playing an important role in the development of tomorrow’s AAM landing network. This early deployment should allow Altaport to fine tune their platform prior to usage at an even larger scale.

Why it’s important: Altaport’s platform provides a third party solution to ground operations management at future vertiports, as well as existing airports and heliports. Altaport’s value proposition would certainly streamline vertiport operations, but it’s unclear to what degree competitors in the industry (both OEM’s and vertiport infrastructure specialists) will tune their IP development focus toward. Altaport could eventually be jockeying for market share amongst a mixed bag of vertically and horizontally integrated vertiport operations management solutions. For now, Altaport has a near first-mover advantage as a third party service.

Learn more about Altaport at altaport.com

Australia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has just announced release of $18M in grants under the first round of the New and Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships.

“The Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships Program will ensure our aviation sector remains at the forefront of innovation as it continues to develop and grow, particularly with renewed focus on achieving net zero carbon emissions”, said Minister Catherine King.

Skyportz is the only vertiport infrastructure company in Australia. They have been working for 4 years to encourage the development of Advanced Air Mobility policy at all levels of Government, particularly in the space of essential vertiport infrastructure.

“We are really pleased about this announcement as it is putting resources into drones and air taxi developments that will one day need our network of vertiports to fulfil their potential”, said Clem Newton-Brown, CEO of Skyportz.

Skyportz has over 400 potential sites owned by property partners wanting to get a first mover advantage in this emerging industry.

Skyportz is set to close its second seed fundraising round on November 10th to develop its first prototype vertiport. With over 180 new investors this will bring the total equity shareholder number to over 600 investors who are excited about the prospects of this new industry.

“The key to this industry is breaking the nexus between aviation and existing airports. We need to develop a network of new vertiport sites if the industry is to reach its potential and Skyportz is readying the landscape to partner with infrastructure investors”, said Newton-Brown.

Why it’s important: This Grant makes it clear that there is strong policy support for Advanced Air Mobility in Australia at a Federal Government level and backs in the recent roadmap released by air regulator CASA to develop the drone and air taxi market in Australia. Read more details on The Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Strategic Regulatory Roadmap here.

Source // Skyportz press release

Related:

• Skyportz Announces Plans for Australia’s First Vertiport in Melbourne (August 2022)

Overair, the eVTOL and advanced air mobility company, announced their expanded headquarters in Santa Ana, California. Featuring new spaces for industrial and manufacturing teams as well as a built out corporate front office, the expansion provides space for the company to execute on their program development plans to reach full FAA certification by 2025.

Related: Overair Debuts Butterfly eVTOL Design

With proximity to John Wayne/Orange County Airport and top-notch residential communities, the new HQ features two buildings of 94,000 sq ft and 109,000 sq ft, respectively. “Building 1” will house the company’s corporate offices, shop lab, and cleanroom space for aircraft design, development and manufacturing, while “Building 2” will include space for aircraft integration and testing facilities.

“We’re excited to double our footprint and our commitment to Orange County and the city of Santa Ana. This new office space helps us promote a culture that allows everyone on the Overair team to achieve their personal goals and the company’s vision of making the world a smaller, cleaner place,” said Overair CEO Ben Tigner. “This expansion enables us to grow our talented team, add hundreds of jobs to our community and accelerate Butterfly’s introduction as the most robust and quietest electric vertical lift aircraft in its class.”

Building upon Southern California’s existing aerospace and technology hubs, the Overair campus will foster productivity and cultural unity across both corporate and engineering teams to achieve a full-scale Butterfly prototype by 2023, FAA certification by 2025, and commercial entry into service by 2026. Meanwhile, the company is looking to bring hundreds and eventually thousands of new, technology-focused jobs to Orange County. Overair plans to hire 1,000 employees over the next 3-5 years, including aerostructure and propulsion systems engineers looking to create green energy systems.

Why it’s important: The upgraded Santa Ana campus doubles Overair’s industrial and manufacturing floorspace and corporate offices, signaling next growth phase for the company. For Overair, the expansion also comes at an inflection point in the company’s growth, as their eVTOL vehicle Butterfly transitions from initial type design to preparation for commercialization and scaled production.

Airports across Italy and France including the likes of Rome, Venice, Bologna, and Nice have announced the creation of Urban Blue. The joint venture is between airport operators and administrators in these regions and will oversee the construction and management of eVTOL vertiports.

Urban Blue envisions their vertiports will transport airline customers on the final leg of their journey from their passenger jet to the city center. The scheme will be developed in partnership with Volocopter and is seeking additional partners.

In a statement released by Urban Blue, the company says it hopes to have airport eVTOL routes operated by Volocopter beginning in Summer 2024 in conjunction with the Summer Olympics hosted in Paris. EDF Invest, a major shareholder in Nice’s Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur, will financially back Urban Blue, and provide its bone fides as an established international player in the development of innovative and sustainable UAM.

“Urban Air Mobility represents a stimulating challenge, capable of mobilizing new resources and skills, and project ourselves into a future of innovative and sustainable mobility,” said Nazareno Ventola, CEO of Bologna Airport in a statement characteristic of those each Urban Blue partner issued. “Aeroporto di Bologna SpA wants to be the protagonist of this future, and the partnership that we are going to develop is an opportunity to be fully seized and exploited, in the interest of our shareholders and our stakeholders.”

Heading into 2022, Urban Blue will conduct technical and economic studies and begin master plans for its vertiports. The company will also begin researching various operational and management tactics for its fleet of Volocopter eVTOL crafts to ensure a smooth and efficient operation.

We are excited to share the news of our new partnership with our holding company, Atlantia, and @volocopter, the pioneer of #UrbanAirMobility, aimed at bringing electric air taxis to Rome.
Together, we will lay the foundation to bring #ElectricAirTaxis to Italy. pic.twitter.com/bGIi6BiuK5

— Aeroporti di Roma (@AeroportidiRoma) October 22, 2021

Why it matters: Investment in aerial mobility infrastructure will continue to rise as manufacturers get closer and closer to commercial viability. With several options to choose from, Urban Blue has wisely partnered with fellow EU-based Volocopter to operate city–airport shuttles at key tourism destinations across France and Italy. This will offer the flying public an exciting new way travel about the cities and completely transform passenger flow.

Eve Urban Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Embraer, has agreed to provide 100 of its eVTOL platforms to aviation taxi platform Ascent, to be used in Melbourne, Manila, Singapore, and Tokyo as soon as 2026. According to Andre Stein, president and CEO of Eve, “Ascent is one of the greatest players of Urban Air Mobility in the Asia-Pacific and its strong presence in the region makes it an ideal partner for Eve’s operations.The region holds a massive demand for transportation disruption that can be filled with our low-emission aircraft. This is the right recipe for sustainable growth.”

The Eve eVTOL aircraft. Photograph: Eve Urban Air Mobility

The news follows an earlier agreement in June 2021, and Ascent hopes to utilize Eve’s zero-emission low noise eVTOL aircraft and possibly their Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) system, both of which are currently being trialled in conjunction with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. According to Clem Newton-Brown, CEO of air taxi landing infrastructure startup Skyportz and chair of the Advanced Air Mobility working group of the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems, “This announcement is very exciting – Embraer is one of the frontrunners in developing an electric air taxi and we welcome this announcement and look forward to working with them to develop routes and destinations. We are working with a number of air taxi designers who will be utilising our sites. Without the landing sites this new form of transport would be very limited. We have been working with property, freight and logistics partners for some years and have a stable of sites ready to take to the next step.”

Eve and Ascent’s partnership will also aid in Eve’s development of UATM solutions.“The creation of the UAM ecosystem requires innovative solutions, which is also a fundamental pillar of Embraer’s growth strategy for the coming years, and EmbraerX was built to address these needs,” said Daniel Moczydlower, president and CEO of EmbraerX, of which Eve is its first spin-off. “Through this partnership, we are jointly embarking on the first steps toward Australia becoming one of the world’s first Urban Air Mobility markets.”

The Eve eVTOL aircraft. Photograph: Eve Urban Air Mobility

Why it’s important: The partnership between Eve and Ascent looks to vastly accelerate the development of UATM solutions and aerial mobility in general, creating the initial infrastructure and resources for an aerial mobility ecosystem in several metropolitan areas. With this agreement, both companies envision a successful initial integration, followed by an elevation of aerial mobility operations to scale. 

Source // Australian Aviation

UAV Navigation has inked a partnership with Iris Automation to integrate its Detect & Avoid ‘Casia’ software into Iris’s advanced autopilot solution ‘VECTOR’. With this combined set of capabilities, UAVs will have the opportunity to detect and avoid potential airborne targets autonomously. 

UAV Navigation specializes in the design of guidance, navigation and control solutions for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) also known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or drones. UAV Navigation’s flight control solutions are used by a variety of top tier aerospace manufacturers including high-performance tactical unmanned planes, aerial targets, mini-UAVs and helicopters. The company’s autopilots carry out advanced functions, such as controlling multiple target drones at 700 km/h, executing a fully automatic net landing of a drone onto a moving vessel at sea, and even converting a twin prop manned aircraft or turbine helicopter into a drone.

“The pace of innovation around autonomous aerial vehicles is rapid as the industry recognizes the potential for creating value. Integrating Iris Automation’s Casia detect and avoid technology into our VECTOR autopilot is another important step in the safety of autonomous flights for commercial operations. Our customers can now automatically command the drone to perform appropriate avoidance maneuvers, resuming their original flightpath once completed,” said UAV Navigation Head of Commercial, Carlo Lazaro.

The integration comes as Iris Automation releases Casia Software v2.2. The release also includes improvements to performance, track fusion and flight data uploads. Casia Software is embedded in all Casia systems, and uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to detect and classify aircraft intruders, similar to human pilots.

James Howard, co-founder and VP of Technology and Innovation at Iris Automation, commented on the partnership, “Partnering with UAV Navigation brings together two significant breakthroughs in safe, autonomous flight. Integrating autopilot systems with true detect and avoid, inclusive of uncooperative aircraft, is critical to enabling commercial operations at scale. Given the wide deployment of UAV Navigation’s autopilot solution this is major progress in opening up the skies.”

Why it matters: Detect and avoid software is a critical step in developing safe autonomous autopilots for aerial mobility applications. With its successful implementation, eVTOL vehicles can operate in dense urban environments with the ability to safely navigate the airspace. Expect to see UAV Navigation, Iris Automation, and others come into the spotlight as autopilot technologies mature and find their way onto commercial platforms.

Source: UAV Navigation Press Release

Elroy Air has successfully raised $40 million USD in its Series A funding round, for a total of $48 million to date, in order to continue building, testing and validation of Elroy’s autonomous cargo drone. The funding round saw financial support from Lockheed Martin’s venture capital arm, Marlinspike Capital, and Prosperity7, in addition to financing from existing investors Catapult Ventures, DiamondStream Partners, Side X Side Management, Shield Capital Partners and Precursor Ventures. 

Elroy Air’s autonomous cargo delivery drone, the Chaparral. Photograph: Elroy Air

According to David Merill, cofounder of Elroy Air, “The space of drone delivery has risen up quickly with small last-mile drones […] and now this new chapter is opening for middle-mile [cargo delivery],” Merrill said. “We’re excited that the technology is ready to support this, customers want it, and we’ve built a team and assembled the funds to go after it.”

Elroy Air’s flagship autonomous cargo aircraft, the Chaparral, has a highly effective design for regional autonomous cargo transportation, able to deliver 300-500 lbs of cargo for a range of 300 miles without a need for a pilot. The Chaparral will be a hybrid-electric aircraft, implementing electric propulsion through propulsors, a generator, and a turboshaft jet engine. In addition, The Chaparral’s cargo pod can autonomously attach and detach from the main body of the aircraft through a cargo handling function which utilizes GPS and sensor to autonomously pick up and drop off the pod. 

The Chaparral will see usage for both the military as well as the commercial market, provided it finishes flight validation with the US military as well as flight certification with the Federal Aviation Administration. Specifically, the Chaparral will require a Type Certificate as well as a Part 135 certificate in order to operate within U.S. airspace for commercial purposes. Currently, Elroy Air remains open to the exact services that it will provide commercially. It may provide the Chaparral’s systems to cargo delivery companies who wish to outsource fast regional delivery methods, or use the Chaparral in its own cargo delivery operations as well.

Why it’s important: The strong success of Elroy’s Series A funding round now opens up Elroy’s ability to proceed with development and certification of the Chaparral, which will be vital if Elroy wishes to use the Chaparral in domestic markets. While Elroy Air currently has no specific plans to enter the passenger transportation industry, the success of the Chaparral may open up future opportunities to develop further products in aerial mobility industry as well. 

Source // TechCrunch