#evtol-technology

#evtol-technology

Joby Aviation and Air Space Intelligence announced a partnership to integrate AI-driven airspace management into U.S. electric air taxi operations, using ASI's Flyways AI platform to model high-density eVTOL traffic before commercial flights begin later this year.

AirHub's platform addresses the operational complexity of drone fleet management, offering features like flight planning, live streaming, compliance with airspace regulations, and incident reporting, all from a single dashboard.

"We're essentially nine months away from testing an electric cargo plane, and then from there, we're hopefully a year and a half away from flying passengers on the plane," Louis Saint-Cyr, the president of Surf Air Mobility, stated.

The robotaxi takeover - assuming they take over - will also be a real estate story. As Waymo, Uber, Tesla, and other competitors race to flood the streets with fully autonomous cars, robotaxi operators will need to find places to park, charge, and maintain their vehicles. Voltera, a charging infrastructure company based in Palo Alto that has partnered with Alphabet-backed Waymo, is buying up real estate now to prep for the AV boom.

Urban logistics is entering a new era where practical technology drives meaningful results. Today, more than 55% of people live in cities, and urbanization is expected to rise to 68% by 2050, placing intense pressure on delivery networks to keep up with growing demand. U.S. e-commerce is projected to reach $1.1 trillion in sales by 2026, heightening expectations for faster and more reliable last-mile service.

Passengers will be able to book an air taxi ride through the Uber app in Dubai before the end of 2026, the company said on Wednesday. The option will use flying electric vehicles created by startup Joby Aviation. Joby's aircraft can fit up to four passengers and are flown by commercial pilots, the companies said. Joby will operate four landing locations, or "vertiports," in Dubai, connecting Dubai International Airport with a mall, a hotel on Palm Jumeirah, and the American University of Dubai.

Uber will invest $100 million to build out public fast-charging stations across the U.S. and Europe, the company said Wednesday. The move aims to provide a backbone for its rapidly expanding autonomous vehicle (AV) ambitions, which now span the globe and include more than 20 partnerships. Now the company is turning to an absolutely essential piece of the puzzle: charging. Uber is partnering with private charging networks to build the stations, offering them minimum utilization guarantees.

It's tempting to frame autonomous driving as a single leap. In public transport, adoption tends to be incremental - because the system is built for reliability, and new capabilities have to fit into daily operations without disrupting service. That is why a practical strategy is evolution, not revolution: introduce autonomy in a defined domain, learn safely in real operations, and expand capability step-by-step.

"We were completely controlling the drone from the helicopter. For us, it's of course unique. Today, what we performed is a world first," Gerin-Roze told reporters on Thursday at the Singapore Airshow. The software is part of Airbus' contribution to the surging industry for drone wingmen, which the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers are betting will be the future of air warfare.