New Horizons in Aeronautics Open New Opportunities for Monetization, Software Development

In preparation for the forecasted surge in eVTOL aircraft, Utah company Altaport, Inc. has begun pushing its new vertiport automation system (VAS) to manage the flow of sustainable aero travel.

Altaport VAS controls a number of activities on behalf of ground infrastructure managers, like resource management, scheduling, movement safety, monitoring, passenger management, and even fee collection. The all-in-one software solution will roll all the hassles of vertiport management into one simple process, boosting efficiency and safety while slashing staff workload. 

Altaport was launched within the Philo Ventures startup studio, helmed by former Airbus and Google employees who saw a niche in managing the workload of a high-volume vertiport. "The industry is severely unprepared for the demand to come," said Cory Cozzens, co-founder. "We're only a couple years away from the introduction of eVTOLs, but most landing infrastructure managers are still using archaic toolsets to manage their operations."

They aren't the only ones eyeing the software side of the eVTOL scene. NASA's July 2021 report, "Vertiport Automation Software Architecture and Requirements", touches extensively on the digital needs for a hopping airfield seeing a multitude of vertical air taxi operations. 

"We've spent more than a decade building and launching operations that are highly reflective of what future AAM operations will look like, giving us unique insight into the challenges and opportunities that such operations present," said Cozzens. "The Altaport team has combined the learnings from those experiences with the technical standards established by the industry to date to build the leading vertiport automation platform. When the first eVTOLs begin commercial operations, Altaport will be prepared to serve landing locations around the world."

FMI: www.altaport.com