The eVTOL sector, also known as aerotaxis, is growing. This technology requires a series of components that enable the flight of these vehicles, complying with the necessary safety standards.
Market demands have led Embention to identify the need to develop the Mission Computer project. This technology will be responsible for enabling the safe operation of eVTOL systems for commercial use. The possibility of carrying out a project like this, is thanks to the financial support of the AVI (Agencia Valenciana de la Innovación) and the European Union through the FEDER.
Functionalities of Veronte Mission Computer
The massification of aerotaxis requires that eVTOL systems possess a high degree of autonomous flight capacity, in order to eliminate the need of a professional pilot on board.
The Veronte Mission Computer device, in collaboration with Veronte Autopilot, will be able to carry out massive data processing from different cameras, allowing artificial vision and situational awareness applications. The Veronte Autopilot is in charge of the flight parameters (guidance, navigation and control) while the Veronte Mission Computer executes operations that require greater data processing (identification and cataloging of obstacles, navigations in degraded flight situations…).
Among the functionalities of the Veronte Mission Computer, the following stand out:
· Sense and avoid: Fully automated obstacle detection, classification and characterization, with a high degree of reliability and speed of response.
· Detection of safe landing zones: Given the limited flight time in eVTOL vehicles and the inability of passengers to resolve conflict situations, it is necessary to proceed with landing autonomously, quickly and efficiently.
· Navigation without GPS: Current navigation systems base most of their position estimation on GPS systems, and may not be available in certain flight areas or be inhibited, which is why a redundant navigation system based on a totally different technology is needed.
· High processing capacity: In certain applications it is necessary to combine the information available from several sensors, thus requiring a high processing capacity.
The program, with an extension of 24 months, proposes a series of tasks where our expert R&D engineers will be responsible for the hardware design, manufacture and software development of many of its final functionalities. All of this is possible thanks to the financial support of the AVI (Agencia Valenciana de la Innovación) and the European Union through the FEDER. Thanks to this financial help we can increase the demands and objectives of the Veronte Mission Computer, being able to aspire to greater benefits.
The application of the Veronte Mission Computer as the basis for the development of autonomous “aerotaxis” opens the door to a new sector that is currently booming, Urban Air Mobility. Thanks to the Veronte Mission Computer – Veronte Autopilot integration, safe and reliable transportation of people can be achieved by these aircraft.
