HANGAR TALK UNMANNED
News relating to unmanned aerial systems
Honeywell
and
Volocopter
to
Research and Develop Navigation Solutions for Urban Mobility
Honeywell and Volocopter have signed an agreement to jointly test and develop new navigation and automatic landing systems for Volocopter’s vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, as the emerging era of urban air mobility moves closer to delivering a new breed of cleaner, safer, and smarter air vehicles.
This agreement launches Honeywell’s extensive autonomous sensing and flight technologies, including inertial measurement units, attitude heading reference solutions, and potentially other urban air mobility (UAM) innovations, into this rapidly developing transportation market. These solutions feature and build on technologies developed under Europe’s Clean Sky 2 and Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) 2020 industry and government collaboration programs. Honeywell and Volocopter aim to prove and mature existing technologies by testing and evolving various sensor-based navigation systems for use in fully electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. These tests will help the two companies create new technologies for urban air mobility.
“Congestion and traffic jams continue to be time killers for people in modern megacities. New timesaving, environmentally friendly solutions are required, and air taxis will certainly be one of them,” said Jan Hendrik Boelens, chief technology officer, Volocopter. “Honeywell’s wealth of experience and knowledge in the
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development of next-generation avionics technologies, combined with our manufacturing expertise, will make autonomous on-demand air mobility a reality across the world. A key goal of our collaboration is to fly a Honeywell inertial measurement-based attitude reference system solution in one of our Volocopters in 2019.”
Urban air mobility comprises personal air vehicles such as flying taxis with on-demand availability, and will provide faster and more efficient movement of people within cities to improve safety and decrease traffic. These passenger services will eventually include the use of autonomous vehicles.
“Honeywell is excited to be working with Volocopter, a global pioneer in the emerging industry of urban air mobility,” said Carl Esposito, president, Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace. “Our global legacy of innovation serves all airspace users, as demonstrated through our involvement in the Clean Sky 2 and SESAR 2020 programs.
“Alongside Volocopter, we will be building on our fundamental expertise of navigation sensor solutions plus other landing expertise, moving us closer to the reality of urban air mobility,” Esposito continued. “Our global outlook stems from years of working alongside organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. This collaboration has allowed us to explore the challenges, opportunities, and safe integration of technologies and aircraft in civil airspace.”
FLIR Completes Strategic Investment in DroneBase
FLIR Systems Inc. and DroneBase Inc. recently announced that FLIR has made a strategic investment in DroneBase, a global drone operations company that provides businesses access to one of the largest unmanned aerial surveillance (UAS) pilot networks. The investment establishes FLIR as the exclusive provider of thermal product solutions and as the official small UAS thermal imaging training provider for the DroneBase enterprise pilot network through the FLIR Infrared Training Center (ITC).
“Our investment in DroneBase helps expand the adoption of FLIR thermal imaging technology by putting it in the hands of more pilots who fly drones every day,” said Jim Cannon, president and CEO of FLIR. “DroneBase’s enterprise pilot network will receive training by professional thermographers, enabling DroneBase to offer specialized thermal inspection services for customers on a wider scale, and creating an opportunity for FLIR to incorporate additional service offerings through DroneBase in the future.”
FLIR and DroneBase will collaborate to develop specialized training for DroneBase pilots through the FLIR ITC, creating an exclusive pilot network through a DroneBase certification process.
“Through FLIR’s strategic investment in DroneBase, we are now able to offer scalable thermal solutions to enterprises of any size,” said Dan Burton, CEO and Founder of DroneBase. “This access to valuable data will allow stakeholders to make better decisions about their most critical assets. Like myself, many DroneBase pilots relied on FLIR products when they served in the military. This integration will offer military veterans a chance to work with FLIR again and leverage their training in their civilian lives.”
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