Honeywell and Volocopter agree to jointly test and develop urban air mobility systems
ATLANTA, Ga., - 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 (VTOL) as the emerging era of urban air mobility moves closer to fruition.
This agreement launches Honeywell’s autonomous sensing and flight technologies, including inertial measurement units, attitude heading reference solutions and potentially other urban air mobility (UAM) innovations, into this 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.
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.
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