Photo: Moonware
Conventional airports are starting to modernize ground-based operations by replacing conventional vehicles with hybrid or electric ones. But the major changes will come once vertiports start functioning. Future air taxi operations will require not just dedicated take-off and landing spaces, but an entirely new type of eco-system that also includes “futuristic” machines for ground operations.
You’ve surely heard of numerous eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) so far, but have you met Atlas? This intriguing vehicle will bring together two worlds, that of automated driving and that of urban air mobility (UAM). Atlas is the autonomous, electric pushback vehicle that will be in charge of the taxi operations at vertiports.
First, a specific software will be used to check out the operational status across the vertiport, and determine which eVTOLs are ready for flight, before dispatching the tow vehicle and setting up a trajectory between a parking stand and a FATO (Designated Final Approach and Take-Off Area).
The next phase sounds romantic (Aircraft Rendezvous & Coupling) but it’s highly technical. The Atlas vehicle uses its high-precision cameras (both on top and at the front) and its advanced computer vision system to connect to the aircraft at a specific angle. Then, it starts taxiing it on the pre-established route, which can also be updated in real-time, based on various factors and potential obstacles.
Finally, Atlas drops off the air taxi after getting clearance, disconnects from it, and then continues its autonomous journey back to its base station, or towards another assignment.
This is all part of a system developed by a startup called Moonware, which is developing both the smart vehicle and the AI software for future ground-based operations at vertiports. Its solutions can also benefit existing airports, but are mainly designed for eVTOL operations.
Plus, because the ground-based processes must be integrated within the overall vertiport management system, Moonware has also started working with Skyway, an expert in air traffic navigation tools for AAM. This way, the UATM (Urban Air Traffic Management) system that’s specifically developed for vertiports will also include these automated ground operations.
This startup was willing to focus on a part of commercial aviation that usually gets the least attention, which is ground handling. It seems that in spite of the huge transformations related to the aircraft themselves and to flight operations, this particular area is lagging far behind.
In other words, automated ground handling could mean a true revolution, whether it happens at vertiports or at conventional airports. Fewer delays, increased safety, and lower emissions levels, are just some of the positive consequences.
They may look like something out of a videogame, but eVTOL vertiports with autonomous, electric vehicles in charge of ground operations could start revolutionizing commercial flight sooner than we think.
First, a specific software will be used to check out the operational status across the vertiport, and determine which eVTOLs are ready for flight, before dispatching the tow vehicle and setting up a trajectory between a parking stand and a FATO (Designated Final Approach and Take-Off Area).
The next phase sounds romantic (Aircraft Rendezvous & Coupling) but it’s highly technical. The Atlas vehicle uses its high-precision cameras (both on top and at the front) and its advanced computer vision system to connect to the aircraft at a specific angle. Then, it starts taxiing it on the pre-established route, which can also be updated in real-time, based on various factors and potential obstacles.
Finally, Atlas drops off the air taxi after getting clearance, disconnects from it, and then continues its autonomous journey back to its base station, or towards another assignment.
This is all part of a system developed by a startup called Moonware, which is developing both the smart vehicle and the AI software for future ground-based operations at vertiports. Its solutions can also benefit existing airports, but are mainly designed for eVTOL operations.
Plus, because the ground-based processes must be integrated within the overall vertiport management system, Moonware has also started working with Skyway, an expert in air traffic navigation tools for AAM. This way, the UATM (Urban Air Traffic Management) system that’s specifically developed for vertiports will also include these automated ground operations.
This startup was willing to focus on a part of commercial aviation that usually gets the least attention, which is ground handling. It seems that in spite of the huge transformations related to the aircraft themselves and to flight operations, this particular area is lagging far behind.
In other words, automated ground handling could mean a true revolution, whether it happens at vertiports or at conventional airports. Fewer delays, increased safety, and lower emissions levels, are just some of the positive consequences.
They may look like something out of a videogame, but eVTOL vertiports with autonomous, electric vehicles in charge of ground operations could start revolutionizing commercial flight sooner than we think.
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