Urban-Air Port and Skyroads to collaborate on Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) for Advanced Air Mobility
Urban-Air Port Founder & Executive Chairman Ricky Sandhu (right), with CFO Adrian Zanelli (left) and Corvin Huber CEO & CTO of Skyroads (centre) at Farnborough Airshow 2022. Copyright © Urban-Air Port®. All Rights Reserved
- Urban–Air Port and Skyroads to collaborate on developing a ConOps (Concept of Operations) for vertiport and UATM interaction with drones and eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft
- Agreement to initiate discussions to collaborate on creating, designing and developing digital simulation tools (“digital twins”) of vertiport and airspace interactions
- Partnership unlocks the potential for Proof of Concept (PoC) development in Germany
- Creates opportunities to work with other urban air transport and mobility partners including, but not limited to, Supernal
Urban-Air Port (UAP), the British start-up leading the charge in the design and manufacture of vertiports for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) have announced the latest addition to their world-class partner ecosystem: Skyroads, a Germany based technology company who are developing automated airspace management and guidance systems.
With UAP building the essential infrastructure and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) designing and testing eVTOLs at an accelerated rate, the need for safely managed enroute navigation and terminal procedures, conforming to present and upcoming regulatory rules, are now a priority. The partnership between UAP and Skyroads will serve to address this, through a collaborative effort on developing a ConOps (Concept of Operations) – a blueprint for how vertiports and drones will interact through a UATM system – “building roads in the sky” – as per the Skyroads mission statement, enabling safe passenger flights and transport of cargo via highly automated and eventually autonomous delivery drones.
UAP and Skyroads will utilise the latest technology to develop “digital twins” – a dynamic virtual copy of the interaction between vertiport and vehicle that behaves identically to a real-world counterpart. This simulation will enable decision-making in the design process through analysis and insight, without the need for physical construction.
As part of their commitment to the European Commission’s SESAR 3 work programme, UAP and Skyroads will enter into a discussion regarding concepts for the optimisation of vertiport resource utilisation (the optimisation of take-offs and landings according to the parameters provided by the vertiport), and the handling of “non-nominal” events (e.g. short term plan changes, maintenance related availability and performance issues, weather challenges etc).
Urban-Air Port Founder & Executive Chairman Ricky Sandhu (left), with CFO Adrian Zanelli (right) and Achim Kostron, CCO of Skyroads (centre) at the Air One event in April 2022. Copyright © Urban-Air Port®. All Rights Reserved
UAP’s groundbreaking Air One event in Coventry recently concluded, however the infrastructure and technology demonstrated will now inform the next generation of vertiport construction and eVTOL operational testing. The knowledge shared between UAP and Skyroads will pave the way for future demonstration projects in the UK and potential sites in Germany and world-wide. The development of these PoCs will unlock the opportunity to work with OEMS and aircraft manufacturers including UAP’s partner, Supernal, who are currently developing the S-A1 air taxi, showcased as a full-scale model at the Air One event.
“With UAP, Skyroads has found a forward thinking partner with whom we can advance vertiport integration into the safety-management of the overall AAM transport system. Since vertiport throughput and efficiency will be the defining factor for AAM performance for the foreseeable future, this work package is of the utmost importance for industry as a whole.”
“Urban-Air Port is pleased to announce this collaboration agreement with Skyroads that will benefit not only our two companies, but the wider market through analysis and real-world testing of key UATM and vertiport interactions, for safe and viable air mobility of the future bringing, tangible benefits to everyone”
