For electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to become a regular part of society, it will be important to realize large economy of scale, there must be enough demand to achieve the critical mass of adoption, and the public must be accepting of the technology, according to Dr. Nate Sirirojvisuth, senior cost research analyst at cost estimating company PRICE Systems. In an email interview with AUVSI, Sirirojvisuth hypothesizes that eVTOL will likely start off as a niche product in the short term, providing value-added to the most affluent sections of society.

A team of researchers from Oklahoma State University (OSU) has been recognized with the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) Award from NASA, and will receive $5.2 million in funding over the next four years to address some of NASA’s strategic research initiatives. Featuring faculty members and students from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, the OSU team will seek to improve real-time weather forecasting of low-level winds and turbulence in both rural and urban environments, with the ultimate goal of improving safety for UAS flying in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations.

As part of a joint flight demonstration with NASA, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) flew its SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in the skies above Southern California on April 3. Since 2014, GA-ASI and NASA have worked together to prove the safety of flying large UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS). GA-ASI was selected to participate in NASA’s Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) activity, which includes multiple flight demonstrations that focus on different types of UAS and their respective flight environments.

Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) technology provider Altitude Angel is partnering with low-altitude air traffic data provider INVOLI to provide what they’re describing as “an unrivalled picture of airspace” to ANSPs, operators, pilots and drone-centric risk management applications. After working together informally on a few initiatives, Altitude Angel and INVOLI believe a strategic partnership is beneficial for both of them. Most recently, the companies worked together at the African Drone Forum and Lake Kivu Challenge 2020, where Altitude Angel served as the lead and umbrella UTM provider, while INVOLI delivered its air traffic awareness system and drone tracking platform.