Operate From Anywhere
A substantial expansion of the locations and operational conditions under which vehicles can access the National Airspace System, including expanded use of the nation’s existing uncontrolled aerodromes and flexible creation of new temporary and permanent aerodromes with minimal required permanent infrastructure, and support for low-visibility and high demand operations.
Intelligent and Adaptive Automation
Collective learning and dynamic information processing that augments operations and optimization of shared resources, with built-in resilience through intelligent and adaptive automation and applications, such as enhanced weather forecasting and predictive routing efficiency.
In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance
A broad range of safety systems that proactively mitigate risks and demonstrate innovative solutions while ultimately ensuring safety to the community on the ground and in the airspace, employing services, functions, and capabilities that perform comprehensive monitoring and communication of the aviation system state, assessment of elevated risks, and mitigation actions to assure safety.
Micro-Services for Flight Operators
A diverse marketplace of appropriately authorized service providers distributed throughout the aviation ecosystem supporting flight operations with a wide range of micro-services to meet the varied needs of each operator in the local airspace.
Data and Decision Support Marketplace
A data-and-reasoning fabric providing an open virtual ecosystem of secured software infrastructure, tools, protocols, governance and policies to implement, manage and operate data sharing and reasoning services across the entire span of mobility for real-time decision support.
Digital Airspace
A capability of airspace and air traffic management founded on a platform of digital information and automation to promote safe, seamless, and flexible airspace utilization for all operators and considers airspace constraints dynamically by digital means to ensure system performance and safety.
We envision two community groups, day of use and contributing. Contributing stakeholders perform research, development, and implementation to ensure the day of use stakeholders are successful.
Day of Use Stakeholders
Contributing Stakeholders
Planning
A rider books a trip with their mobility-on-demand phone application.
The mobility-on-demand application sends a request to an air taxi operator to communicate rider origin and destination points. The flight operator utilizes information from the Data and Decision Support Marketplace and aggregates rider data requests to handle on-demand routing to optimal pick up and drop off points. Operators strive to bridge existing public transportation infrastructure within the routing options.
The on-demand mobility application relays the schedule information including first-mile, en route, and last-mile travel times to the rider for consent on timing, pricing, and type of transportation for each segment.
Operation
The rider chooses the best trip option, then the selected transport arrives to take the rider to their departure vertiport. If a rider's journey is delayed significantly impacting other traveler trip, the delayed rider is rescheduled onto another trip while still meeting minimum performance criteria.
The vertiport operator manages the pre-flight scheduling and sequencing of vertiport resources, including staging areas and landing pads, to match the supply of vertiport resources with flight operator demand. Resource utilization is continuously being improved via Intelligent and Adaptive Automation resources.
The flight operator coordinates with the on-demand mobility application, other flight operators, and non-scheduled rider arrivals to accommodate customers via Micro-Services for Flight Operators.
A certified service provider utilizes Data and Decision Support Marketplace to publish the flight plan which initiates passenger loading and automated aircraft pre-flight checks through integrated health management systems. Micro-Services for Flight Operators providers may assist the flight operator and provide additional pre-flight, en route, and/or post-flight services such as real-time micro-weather monitoring. Digital Airspace communicates all relevant airspace constraints including arrival metering schedules and temporary flight restrictions.
Success
The aircraft safely taxis to the takeoff pad, receives automated clearance for takeoff, and applies Cooperative and Coordinated Digital Flight and In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance to reach its destination point efficiently and safely.
Short-range travel is stress free while optimizing overall airspace utility with the smallest aviation carbon footprint.
Help us identify research questions to guide further exploration.
Help us identify barriers to describe obstacles we will need to address.