Photo: Altaport
Catching an electric flying taxi in the morning and feeling good about saving the planet sounds like a dream, but could become a nightmare if proper operational management isn’t implemented. If the plan is to have hundreds of air taxis and cargo drones sharing the same airspace as all the other conventional aircraft, developing type of technology needs to happen as soon as possible.
It’s no doubt exciting to see sketches of future vertiports, these mobility hubs that seem straight out of movies and video games. It sure looks easy to just head on up the top of a building in the heart of the city and catch a ride in the shape of an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing). Unfortunately, things are much more complicated and a lot of it has to do with how do we actually operate these airports for AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) vehicles?
Cory Cozzens, who used to work at Airbus, makes a serious claiming, warning that today’s industry is “severely underprepared” for what’s coming in terms of AAM. In other words, flying taxis are knocking at our door, and we still haven’t got the proper means to set them up.
It’s not like we only need to handle a couple of these electric aircraft here and there. Swarms of eVTOLs and cargo drones are getting ready to “invade” air traffic in just a couple of years. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) officials recently spoke about this, confirming that it won’t be that long before eVTOL commercial operations officially get the green light.
All-new air vehicles and airports most likely require operational tools that are also innovative. Cozzens believes that eVTOL infrastructure can’t be operated with “archaic toolsets,” so he did something about that.
Together with a former Google expert, Cozzens co-founded Altaport, part of the Philo Ventures startup studio. Altaport’s main mission is to provide an efficient software tool for vertiports, which can also be used for existing airports and heliports.
Two of the main challenges for future vertiports consist of high-volume operations and the autonomous features of most eVTOLs. As its name suggests, Altaport’s VAS technology (Vertiport Automation System) will basically help automate ground infrastructure operations. The reason why this is so important is mainly safety (which is an essential issue when it comes to any type of autonomous vehicle), but it’s also meant to make things easier and more efficient.
In addition to safe landing, and ground movement safety, the VAS platform will also help with things like scheduling, passenger management, resource management, and fee collection.
Altaport’s solution is already in use for existing heliports across Brazil, and the startup intends to extend this network in Mexico and the U.S. also, in preparation for flying taxi operations coming up in 2024.
Cory Cozzens, who used to work at Airbus, makes a serious claiming, warning that today’s industry is “severely underprepared” for what’s coming in terms of AAM. In other words, flying taxis are knocking at our door, and we still haven’t got the proper means to set them up.
It’s not like we only need to handle a couple of these electric aircraft here and there. Swarms of eVTOLs and cargo drones are getting ready to “invade” air traffic in just a couple of years. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) officials recently spoke about this, confirming that it won’t be that long before eVTOL commercial operations officially get the green light.
All-new air vehicles and airports most likely require operational tools that are also innovative. Cozzens believes that eVTOL infrastructure can’t be operated with “archaic toolsets,” so he did something about that.
Together with a former Google expert, Cozzens co-founded Altaport, part of the Philo Ventures startup studio. Altaport’s main mission is to provide an efficient software tool for vertiports, which can also be used for existing airports and heliports.
Two of the main challenges for future vertiports consist of high-volume operations and the autonomous features of most eVTOLs. As its name suggests, Altaport’s VAS technology (Vertiport Automation System) will basically help automate ground infrastructure operations. The reason why this is so important is mainly safety (which is an essential issue when it comes to any type of autonomous vehicle), but it’s also meant to make things easier and more efficient.
In addition to safe landing, and ground movement safety, the VAS platform will also help with things like scheduling, passenger management, resource management, and fee collection.
Altaport’s solution is already in use for existing heliports across Brazil, and the startup intends to extend this network in Mexico and the U.S. also, in preparation for flying taxi operations coming up in 2024.
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