Skyroads whitepaper expands on the debate around autonomy

By eVTOL | March 3, 2022

German air traffic management startup Skyroads believes the success of the urban air mobility (UAM) industry and eVTOL operations relies on autonomy.

In the company’s second whitepaper released today, authors Ralph Schuppenhauer, lead ground systems at Skyroads, and Corvin Huber, Skyroads CEO, said automated interoperable flight systems will allow the industry to scale flight numbers, improve revenues, and speed up the implementation of UAM in metropolitan and urban regions.

“UAM is facing a classic chicken and egg problem,” Huber said in a press release. “While there are various approaches on how to manage automated flight, there is neither consensus on either rules or standards for even semi-automated flying in metropolitan areas nor is there a market yet.”

It’s an issue that he believes needs to be resolved between regulators, eVTOL developers, and UAM companies, with further details outlined in the whitepaper titled “A Roadmap for Flight Automation in Advanced Air Mobility.”

“It is clear that air vehicle manufacturers will provide the vehicles to fly, but they will not be able to simultaneously build the roads and systems required to get UAM off the ground with regard to interoperable management quickly and profitably,” Huber said.

Previously known as D3 Technologies, Skyroads is developing an automated airspace management and vehicle guidance system (AAVS) to manage passenger and cargo drones. Huber said initial tests at its own testing air space from Memmingen, Germany, to Tannheim, Austria, have been successful.

“The need for our solutions and systems is here,” he said. “And I am convinced that we will deliver in time to help launch UAM as a safe and open mode of transportation around the globe.”

Since 2019, Skyroads has secured partnerships with a number of aerospace companies, such as Manta Aircraft, Amazilia Aerospace, and CAPS Aviation. It became a member of the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium in May 2021, and joined Supernal’s Airspace Management Consortium in November 2021.