Company has developed state-of-the-art solutions to enable integrated Advanced Air Mobility operations
Eve Air Mobility (“Eve”) presented today at Airspace World in Geneva the name of its Urban ATM software and provided updates on the development of the solution. Vector will be an agnostic software solution developed to address current and future urban ATM challenges for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations. The solution’s services focus on fleet and vertiport operators and future AAM service providers, including air navigation service providers (ANSPs). The company is moving towards an operational version of the software so that customers can experiment and collaborate in advancing the market.
“eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) flights will become an established means of transportation for communities around the world. Eve expects the first deliveries and entry into service to take place as early as 2026, and has targeted airspace and ATM challenges to support the introduction and growth of the market in a harmonized and safe way. Vector will simplify AAM operations from day one, coordinating all the variables involved to increase safety, optimize performance and maximize the use of resources,” says Johann Bordais, CEO of Eve.
Vector will allow eVTOLs to be integrated with other aircraft flying in low-altitude urban airspace from the first day of operation and will provide the necessary automation to enable scalability in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market. To date, Eve has 14 (fourteen) customers for the solution, including fleet operators, vertiports and airspace and traffic management providers. With Vector, eVTOL operators will make their operations more efficient; vertiports will manage resource availability with all stakeholders and parties involved in the operation; and ANSPs and service providers (PSU) for UAM will optimize the airspace and air traffic network for all users.
In November 2023, Eve carried out a simulation with Flexjet to validate and refine the Vector services in real conditions and better understand the commercial viability and applications of the software. The simulation took place in the UK and involved 18 flights at eight airfields, with exercises on 26 different routes and alternative landing sites to test the functionality of the standby flight plan. The team also tested departure and destination delays with impacts on arriving flights, flight cancellations due to airspace and weather restrictions, and in-flight emergencies, including requests for alternative landing sites.
The Eve-Flexjet simulation found gaps between the current ATM systems and those needed to support UAM operations from the first day of operation, such as the lack of integration between the fleet and vertiport operator systems to coordinate eVTOL flights safely and efficiently. Eve is therefore prioritizing the development of services that address these gaps, including integrated flight planning, with availability of airspace and vertiport resources; management of alternative landing sites, incorporated into flight planning to support the endurance limitations of electric aircraft; and compliance management to inform stakeholders when flights deviate from the plan and could affect other flights.
“Flight operators are responsible for almost every aspect of an operation, which requires extensive decision-making and tracking capabilities. Urban ATM services can support these activities in preparation for AAM operations through higher levels of automation and an integrated view of the relevant information related to a specific flight. Eve has been actively incorporating features into Vector, including feedback received through user testing, to ensure that the value of its services is translated directly to end users,” adds Brenden Hedblom, Eve’s traffic management solutions manager.
As Vector matures, Eve continues to look for additional opportunities to test the solution with its customers and partners. Testing in real-life scenarios is the best way to ensure that the services deliver the value needed. The company expects to move this year towards an operational version of the software so that customers can experiment and collaborate in advancing the market, preparing the UAM ecosystem for initial operations.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***