The European Union (EU) this week launched a major collaboration to expand the scope for advanced air mobility initiatives. The new Air Mobility Urban–Large Experimental Demonstrations (AMU-LED) program is being partly funded by the EU-backed Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) body as part of the Horizon 2020 innovation scheme.
The primary focus of AMU-LED is to demonstrate how autonomous aircraft can be safely operated in urban environments as part of wider SESAR work on the integration of drones in the so-called U-Space. Over the next two years, the international project team will prepare for flight demonstrations to be conducted in 2022 at Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Cranfield in the UK. Work will focus on applications for eVTOL aircraft including passenger and cargo transportation, police surveillance, and emergency medical support.
