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Bruchsal/Norderstedt, 28 October 2020 - Volocopter, the pioneer in Urban Air Mobility (UAM), announced today a cooperation with Lufthansa Industry Solutions. Together they are building Volocopter’s proprietary intelligent and integrated “Urban Air Mobility Software Platform” that will run on Microsoft Azure: VoloIQ. It offers complete digital visibility of the complex UAM ecosystem in real-time.
Using artificial intelligence, VoloIQ will enable amongst others:
Global scale air taxi operations
Seamless customer service (such as simple booking) and integration with smart cities, existing mobility providers, and new services
Increase safety and efficiency, decrease costs, and ensure a reliable and smooth user experience off- and online
Optimized aircraft utilization and an increased lifetime for individual components
Urban Air Mobility connects the complete ecosystem of city authorities, existing mobility options e.g. public transportation and ride hailing, flight and ground operations, as well as customer facing services. VoloIQ will process information of all participating components in the ecosystem and make them and their interdependencies digitally visible at all times.
“VoloIQ is the digital backbone for enabling the whole Volocopter Urban Air Mobility Services ecosystem and serves as the brain for our air taxi services. Using big data, it will continuously improve efficiency and have a significant positive impact on our customer service quality,” says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. “We selected Lufthansa Industry Solutions because of their leading know-how in certified aviation processes and large-scale aircraft operations. I am very much looking forward to the exciting outcomes of this cooperation.”
Volocopter leads the way in demonstrating Urban Air Mobility and is currently working on the certification for its fourth-generation aircraft: VoloCity. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is an expert in digitalization solutions with extensive experience within the aviation industry and beyond. They will bring Urban Air Mobility Services to a new level of digitalization. Microsoft Azure will provide the infrastructure.
“Digital platforms and integrated solutions are the key to scale operations globally. They allow a seamless connection between existing ecosystems and new services,” says Bernd Appel, Managing Director of Lufthansa Industry Solutions. “We look forward to being part in this newest sector of aviation. With our vast knowledge and experience we will build a unique solution for Volocopter, bringing to life the VoloIQ.”
“By connecting VoloIQ to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Volocopter will be able to deliver smoother and more seamless air mobility experiences,” said Heiko Huettel, Head of Automotive EMEA at Microsoft Corp.*
Until commercial operations of VoloCity air taxis start, VoloIQ will play an integral part in flight testing and building up test operation facilities.
* Quote changed by Microsoft Corp. after publication. (edited on 17 November 2020)
About Volocopter GmbH
Volocopter is building the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services to megacities worldwide. With the VoloCity, the company is developing the first fully electric “eVTOL” aircraft in certification to safely and quietly transport passengers within cities. Volocopter leads and cooperates with partners in infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem necessary to ‘Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life’.
In 2011, Volocopter performed the first-ever manned flight of a purely electric multicopter and has since showcased numerous public flights with its full-scale aircraft. The most notable have been the public test flights at Singapore’s Marina Bay in October 2019 and the world’s first autonomous eVTOL flight in Dubai 2017. Volocopter is also developing products for the logistics and precision agriculture space with their VoloDrone.
Founded in 2011 by Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel, Volocopter has 150 employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore. The company is managed by CEO Florian Reuter, CTO Dr. Arnaud Coville, CFO Rene Griemens, and CCO Christian Bauer, and has raised a total of 122 million euro in equity. Volocopter‘s investors include Daimler, Geely, DB Schenker, Intel Capital, Team Europe, btov, Micron, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, TransLink Capital (Japan Airlines and Sompo Japan Insurance), MS&AD Ventures, and Manta Ray Ventures. Find out more at: www.volocopter.com
About Lufthansa Industry Solutions
Lufthansa Industry Solutions is a service provider for IT consulting and system integration. This Lufthansa subsidiary helps its clients with the digital transformation of their companies. Its customer base includes companies both within and outside the Lufthansa Group, as well as more than 200 companies in various lines of business. The company is based in Norderstedt and employs more than 2,100 members of staff at several branch offices in Germany, Albania, Switzerland and the USA.
As an IT service provider, Lufthansa Industry Solutions is playing a decisive role in shaping the digital change. With its technical expertise, combined with industry know-how, the Lufthansa subsidiary supports its customers in the introduction of new, digital technologies. Through many years of experience in various industries and through regular technology scouting, LHIND has a good overview of existing technologies and solutions. Technologies and products that have proven themselves are integrated into the portfolio through partnerships.