Unifly has completed six large scale tests of its Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system in Europe, for managing the activity of drones and eVTOL aircraft.
The six Urban Air Mobility (UAM) demonstrations were part of the CORUS-XUAM project and were run in Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They validated integrated operations with unmanned drones an eVTOL aircraft alongside manned aircraft operations for diverse mission types such as passenger transport, logistics, delivery, emergency response, and surveillance.
The demonstrations also showcased digital data exchange processes supported by integrated U-space services in various scenarios, including urban, suburban, and inter-city settings, as well as areas in and near ATM-controlled airspaces and airports.
The Belgian demonstration centred around the Antwerp port area near controlled airspace, and aimed to develop guidelines for safe UAM operations at urban ports and other critical infrastructure sites. Unifly’s UTM platform helped tackle challenges such as situational awareness, and flight authorizations and enabled scalability for UAM operations.
Anres van Swalm, CEO of Unifly said, "This accomplishment highlights our commitment to pushing the frontiers of innovation in UTM and UAM. The outcomes of the CORUS-XUAM project undeniably played a crucial role in influencing the future of urban air mobility, and we take pride in our participation in this transformative journey.
“Unifly expresses appreciation to all collaborators, partners, and stakeholders engaged in the CORUS-XUAM project, marking a substantial milestone in Unifly's dedication to propelling the UAM landscape forward."
After a period of consultation with stakeholders the results were used to consolidate the Concept of Operations (ConOps) V.4. which serves as a reference manual for U-space, the European ConOps for UAM.
Following CORUS-XUAM, other EU projects are also using the results to continue research and testing.