OneSky will provide its Airspace Management Services as part of the National Campaign (NC-1) program, with a global consortium that includes Global Flight Partners, Infrastructure System Partners, Infrastructure Services Partners.
Exton, PA - July 15, 2021 - OneSky, a global UTM company developing airspace assessment, operations, and traffic management solutions, has announced it has been selected to participate in NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign. The AAM National Campaign will bring together thought leaders from around the world to gather research which will enable a safe, secure, and effective advanced air mobility system in the U.S.
The National Campaign includes advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicle providers; AAM infrastructure companies who will provide services, hardware, and software; and airspace services companies like OneSky who can perform complex airspace simulations, operations and traffic management services that will allow stakeholders to evaluate a wide variety of advanced air transportation applications. These detailed tests are a critical precursor to allowing operational airborne tests carrying people and will help regulators and technology providers establish a framework for AAM traffic management systems.
As part of NASA's National Campaign program, OneSky is working with U.S.-based autonomous air vehicle developer Wisk Aero, as well as several global companies external to the National Campaign including the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group and leading take off and infrastructure company Skyports.
“We’re honored to be working with these global partners on the National Campaign,” says OneSky Co-founder and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Chris Kucera. “These are some of the top thought leaders in industry working on the development of AAM aircraft and infrastructure.”
“We are pleased to partner with OneSky and other industry leaders on this important research that will advance the industry,” said Pamela Cohn, chief operating officer and U.S. general manager, Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group. “This global consortium represents our belief that it will take a ‘village’ to bring AAM to life.”
Through the National Campaign partnership, OneSky will be able to incorporate the unique performance and operational capabilities of the Wisk vehicle, as well those from additional vehicle partner Hyundai, while incorporating data and dynamic interactions with Skyports' landing infrastructure. Using their unique simulation environment, OneSky will be able to model the vehicle information and simulate vehicle operations in the context of air-based transportation systems.
Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports, said: “The National Campaign presents immense opportunity to test and enhance the interaction between vertiport infrastructure, vehicles, and flight and traffic management services alongside fellow leaders in the advanced air mobility industry. Participating in the programme enables us to develop and trial our traffic flow and resource management technology at vertiports, and will be instrumental to facilitating the widespread implementation of AAM flight in US skies.”
In addition to performance information, OneSky will use their expertise in 3D geospatial data and visualization over the web to address the problems of flight planning. Obstacles or buildings on the ground, weather patterns, and communication networks are all part of the equation, and OneSky is working on developing new ways to understand how 3D geospatial data impacts AAM. Additional Infrastructure Services Partners include Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Penn State Vertical Lift Center of Excellence, Orbit Logic and ResilienX.
OneSky brings unique experience to the Campaign. Through our heritage with AGI, OneSky leverages technology that has been instrumental in test and evaluation for military and civilian aircraft that include the F-35, F-18, E-2 as well as unmanned platforms like Triton and X-47B UCAS. Overall, the OneSky team has more than 20 years of experience in complex flight planning, testing and operations for the aerospace industry.
“Our experience and understanding of systems of systems and how to deal with issues like infrastructure availability and airspace capacity are what we bring to the National Campaign,” Kucera explains. “We know how to model complex tasks that are based on physics: understanding the vehicle, the vehicle propagation, the environmental impact of a flight, and the mission objectives.”
The National Campaign will include simulation and testing for four different scenarios with the NC-1 partner efforts running through late 2022. Ultimately, it will help move AAM and urban air mobility forward – and will also help to inform the development of scalable air traffic management systems for commercial unmanned systems.
“We’re proud to have been selected to participate in the National Campaign and we’re excited to work with NASA and our partners to help accelerate development of this new industry,” Kucera says.