Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, is teaming up with SkyGrid to pave the way for the future of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) by developing cutting-edge solutions for the integration and management of uncrewed aerial vehicles into the national airspace. Both companies bring complementary expertise to the table, with Aurora providing technical expertise in autonomous aircraft operations and SkyGrid offering its solutions for AAM operators flying both crewed and uncrewed missions.
AAM is poised to make air travel and transportation more affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly, with autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles at the heart of it all. Widespread adoption depends on establishing an infrastructure that can safely and efficiently integrate these aircraft into everyday airspace operations.
“As we progress with advanced air mobility, we’re actively reshaping transportation logistics of people and cargo,” said Larry Wirsing, vice president of aircraft and product development at Aurora. “At Aurora, we are proud to be working with SkyGrid to bring the highest quality and reliability to every stage of this journey, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to ensure sustainable and accessible solutions for urban flight.”
SkyGrid, a Boeing joint venture based in Austin, Texas, specializes in providing a ground-based system to meet the emerging needs of AAM. As an aviation Third-Party Service Provider (TSP), SkyGrid is developing a platform that provides AAM operators—flying both crewed and uncrewed missions—with a detailed digital representation of their operating environment. This system delivers pre-flight and in-flight situational awareness, as well as decision support services, to help operators safely and efficiently navigate today’s airspace.
“Aurora and SkyGrid share a vision for a future where autonomous air mobility is seamlessly integrated into everyday life,” said Jia Xu, CEO of SkyGrid. “By combining Aurora’s deep expertise in autonomous aircraft development with SkyGrid’s advanced digital platform for situational awareness and decision support for aviation autonomy, we are creating the foundation for a safe, efficient, and scalable airspace system that empowers operators to realize the full potential of advanced air mobility.”
Aurora engineers, working across sites in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Switzerland, are leading the technical development of the high assurance system that will ensure seamless integration of autonomous vehicles into the airspace. This system will support autonomous eVTOLs in maintaining situational awareness, detecting and avoiding potential obstacles, and providing critical information related to weather, air traffic, and other challenging contingencies. Aurora is providing leadership and subject matter expertise in the most critical disciplines, such as system engineering, architecture, software development, and certification.
“A successful future for Advanced Air Mobility depends on building a robust, standardized framework for autonomous vehicle operations,” said Wirsing. “Aurora’s work with SkyGrid isn’t only about developing innovative technologies. It’s also about creating regulatory and operational foundations that will allow autonomous aerial vehicles to become a natural extension of air travel and transportation.”
Through this collaboration, Aurora and SkyGrid are laying the groundwork for the next generation of flight – one that will redefine the possibilities of mobility.
