Program

The program for 2023 is currently being developed. Check out the excellent sessions from our 2022 event below!

September 27, 2022

12:00 PM-12:15 PM - Welcome Session

Brian Wynne, CEO, AUVSI
Matt Wasowski, New Business and Product Development, Events, SAE International

12:15 PM-12:45 PM - Feature: Collaboration as an Accelerator: Why a Stakeholder Strategy Gives Wings to AAM Ambitions

As states and cities formulate their Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) strategies, they often place the highest priority on clearing the technical, regulatory and procedural hurdles they face. However, as with many transformational initiatives, a singular focus on sustaining forward motion can leave vital community resources and support untapped. In this session, we discuss how AAM visionaries and advocates can unleash the power of collaboration to engage diverse stakeholders, identify synergies and mutual benefits, mitigate risks, and advance with resolve to create a unique, integrated transportation initiative.

Beth Kigel, Director of Smart and Connected Solutions, HNTB Corporation

12:45 PM-1:45 PM - Making the US a leader in AAM through Commercial and Military Partnerships

This panel will bring together key agencies and companies that are working together to advance the future of air mobility. In this panel we will talk about the importance of partnerships and cover the success, the challenges and the path forward. Attendees can submit questions early for the moderator to ask these questions live during the session.

Darshan "Dash" Divakaran, Senior Manager, Strategic Innovations & Partnerships, AFWERX
Parimal H. Kopardekar (ARC-A), NASA Director, Intrapreneur, Autonomy, Drones, Sustainable Aviation
Col. Tom Meagher, Division Chief, AFWERX Prime
Victor Wicklund,  Acting Director, Policy and Innovation Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

1:00 PM-1:30 PM - Vertiport Integration is Required for Urban Air Mobility to Thrive

Current transport systems and vehicles will be unable to meet future global needs for logistics or passenger transport sustainably and must evolve. To enable the future of Air Mobility, vertiport infrastructure must be ready to support operations of eVTOL air vehicles.The need to develop vertiport prototype requirements, specifications, data interface requirements, and system performance criteria with added benefit of identifying regulatory, public acceptance, standards, market exploitation, and research needs for advancing safe vertiport operations is clear. An integrated architecture offers benefits to vertiport providers by lower operating costs, reducing lead times to customers, and increasing flexibility in service provision, e.g. an eVTOL is projected to be 1.5x more productive than a typical van over a 160km route because of the much faster travel time and rapid loading/unloading.

Amit Ganjoo, Founder and CEO, ANRA Technologies
Brent Klavon, Vice President, ANRA Technologies
Elizabeth Chau, Head of UTM Strategic Development, NATS
Paul McDuffee, Sr. Manager of Regulatory Policy, Supernal
Suzanne Murtha, Vice President Connected and Automated Technologies, AECOM

2:35 PM-3:05 PM - Navigating UAM: How to Assure Navigation of Aircraft, Approaches, and Vertiport Site Selection

For several decades we have relied on extremely reliable and robust navigation using GPS. It has enabled more efficient global navigation, universal standards, and is on nearly every aircraft regardless of operating in visual or instrument conditions. It is essential that Urban Air Mobility leverage GPS (and GNSS that includes other systems like Galileo) to enable safe navigation to anywhere on the global and in challenging environments like cities. Low altitude flight can be challenging for GPS due to signal interference from buildings and terrain. New geospatial prediction and augmentation tools can address these issues by determining where GPS/GNSS is always good, and if it isn’t exact the times/locations/altitudes that it is within the regulatory requirements to fly even in the most challenging environments. In this presentation I will share my knowledge of the essential data needed to determine vertiport site locations, approach surfaces, and flight corridors. To increase the audiences understanding I will also refer to recent case studies that include experiences of Spirent’s Foresight service in action.

Jeremy Bennington, VP of Position, Navigation, & Time (PNT) Assurance, Spirent Communications

2:45 PM-3:15 PM - Digital Flight - A New Cooperative Operating Mode to Complement VFR and IFR

Digital Flight is a proposed new operating mode to complement the existing operating modes of visual and instrument flight rules (VFR and IFR). While envisioned to be available to all operators able to meet the operational and performance requirements, this new operating mode will facilitate the operational integration of new entrants like Urban Air Mobility and other Advanced Air Mobility concepts including increasingly autonomous operations. Qualified operators will employ Digital Flight to enhance their airspace access and operational flexibility in all visibility conditions without requiring segregation from incumbent operations. Enabled by connected digital technologies and information exchanges, Digital Flight operators will employ cooperative practices and self-separation to ensure flight path safety in lieu of visual procedures or receiving separation services from Air Traffic Control. Its distributed structure and automated functions will be highly scalable and enable traffic densities and operational tempos not achievable with the existing operating modes.

Andrew Lacher, Chief Technologist, Future Airspace Ops, Intelligent Flight Systems – Research Directorate, NASA

3:15 PM-3:45 PM - Fleet Scalability in the Age of Autonomy

Eventually, every new and innovative advancement in technology has to scale. Scaling is not only essential for operational efficiencies, but also for safety, profitability and overall business strategy. In order for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to reach a critical mass and be economically viable, operators and industry participants must scale their operations. In this discussion, panelists will discuss “how to scale” with industry pioneers from both traditionally piloted operations, as well as those who are leading from the front of AAM. Companies including Air Methods and Iridium will share insights into how they’ve scaled their operations over the past several decades, and American Aerospace and Reliable Robotics on how they’re building scale into their operations and planning for the future.

Dave Yoel, CEO, American Aerospace
Joe Darden, Associate Director, Aviation Business Development, Iridium Satellite
John Peterson, Executive Director Aviation, Iridium
A.C. Charania, Reliable Robotics

3:30 PM-4:00 PM - Compliant UAM Product Information Practices

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) pioneers innovate to produce the safest, most efficient aircraft at an affordable cost. For market acceptance, these highly complex UAM products need to meet evolving federal, state, and local safety standards. Learn the product information practices that other heavily regulated high-tech companies use to thrive in the face of these same challenges.

Ann McGuire, Director of Product Marketing, Arena, a PTC Business

September 28, 2022

12:00 PM-12:30 PM - Detect-and-Avoid Systems

Rudy Johnson, Technology Business Development Director, Sagetech Avionics
Zach Peterson, Director of Business Development, Vigilant Aerospace Systems, Inc.

12:15 PM-12:45 PM - Drafting a Path to Autonomy in Aviation: From Unsettled Issues to an Industry Blueprint

One of the key pieces of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) across all aircraft platforms and both urban and regional applications is the ever-increasing extent of autonomy that is being developed to support safer and more efficient aircraft operations. While automation and autonomy have been part of aviation in one form or another nearly since its inception, the expanding role of autonomy today has raised a number of questions both technically and across the regulatory spectrum. Moving from the identification of areas of uncertainty to an ongoing effort to draft a Blueprint for Autonomy, this session will look at what industry - in partnership with the Regulator - can do to bring autonomous aviation into routine operations.

Anna Mracek Dietrich, Policy Advisor, AUVSI

1:00 PM-1:30 PM - SAE Activities on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)

To fulfill its lofty mission of advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity, SAE International shares its vision for connecting UAS and UAM professionals across the globe while helping create necessary standards and peer-reviewed content within the industry.

Jonathan Archer, Director, Aerospace Standards, Strategy & Innovation, SAE International
David Franks, Standards Specialist- Engineer Aerospace, SAE International

1:20 PM-1:50 PM - The European Approach to Traffic Management for Urban Air Mobility

Research into UAS traffic management in Europe, or U-space as we call it, has taken a long view, aiming from the beginning to support high densities of highly automated operations above population centres. With this in mind, the focus of current European research is how to extend U-space to accommodate Urban Air Mobility. This talk will summarize the challenges that have been identified and the solutions we are exploring in current theoretical and experimental research in Europe.

Andrew Hately, UTM Concept Expert, EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub

1:45 PM-2:15 PM - Weather Intelligent Navigation Data and Modeling for AAM Planning

Advanced air mobility (AAM) entrants to the US national airspace system – including both unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and urban air mobility (UAM) – require a high level of weather awareness. New electric vertical lift autonomous aircraft must dynamically respond to varying external conditions such as weather, unforeseen obstacles, and traffic congestion in urban environments. NASA’s efforts in air Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management (UTM) requires real-time weather forecasting coupled with autonomous navigation in order to accommodate safe operation in their intended environments including precision navigation through uncertain weather conditions in both urban and rural settings. The WINDMAP (Weather Intelligent Navigation Data and Models for Aviation Planning) team is comprised of experts in engineering (aerospace, computer, mechanical, and robotics), sensors, atmospheric physics, aviation weather, and numerical modeling to directly address these technical and logistical challenges. This session will present efforts by team members on progress towards providing real-time weather awareness for UAM.

Dr. Craig Woolsey, Professor, Virginia Tech University
James Pinto, Atmospheric Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Jamey Jacob, Director and Professor, Unmanned Systems Research Institute, Oklahoma State University
Dr. Nicoletta Fala, Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University, Mechanical & Aero-Space Engineering

1:55 PM-2:25 PM - Infrastructure Developed for UAM and Full Automated Transportation

eVTOL and UAM operators and manufacturers are planning for vertiports and UAM to support improvements in safety and mobility. There are many infrastructure elements that can support deployments, including analyses of people movement, integration with other transport systems, electrification requirements and safety needs for vertiports and vertistops. Here we'll talk about global deployments and supporting analyses underway now.

Suzanne Murtha, Vice President Connected and Automated Technologies, AECOM

2:30 PM-3:00 PM - Building the National Low Altitude Airspace Response and Reporting Infrastructure

The current gap in the national Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) continuum is the ability to connect America's 6,100 Primary 911 PSAP's and 18,000 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies with the 550 Part 139 airport and 186 military air traffic control towers. We are entering an era where every airport will have an array of C-UAS detection devices which will dramatically increase the need for coordinated response by law enforcement agencies. After six years of "FAA Enforcement Guidelines" and federal reporting mandates, effective law enforcement remains ill-equipped to respond, investigate, and report low altitude incidents and violations. Based on the protocols and supporting technology developed during the US Air Force Accelerator the presenters will discuss:

• A national model for integrating law enforcement into the UTM System
• Triage and Validation of automated and public reports of incidents using AI/ML
• Dedicated data communications between ATC, 911, and first responders using FirstNet and other prioritized broadband networks
• Integration with LAANC, Remote ID, and other supporting Technologies
• "Smart Reporting" using AI to guide the field Investigation
• Using forensic tools to model offending flights and video capture
• Comprehensive Incident Reporting for tracking warning notices and prosecutions where warranted.

John Abbey, CEO, SafeFlight

2:45 PM-3:15 PM - Look Up! Mobility Reimagined

In Florida, local governments are leading the way in preparing for mobility in the 3rd dimension. Miami-Dade County, Florida’s largest, has been at the forefront of advancing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as a viable option for the region’s residents, businesses and visitors. Companies in the Advanced Air Mobility industry ecosystem have been equally focused on the Miami metropolitan area as a prime target for launching their services. Led by Vice Chair Oliver Gilbert of Miami-Dade County’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), the BOCC has commissioned an UAM Working Group of public and private sector leaders that are sharing knowledge both of County priorities and industry needs. The goal is to thoughtfully, efficiently, and expeditiously enable the launch of these services to enhance safety, to address congestion, and to add to the economic vitality and competitiveness of the region. Register to learn how this became a priority for both public sector leaders and industry, as well as the progress-to-date.

Beth Kigel, Director of Smart and Connected Solutions, HNTB Corporation
Matthew Everett Land, Government Relations and Public Policy Lead, Eve Air Mobility
Oliver Gilbert, Vice Chair, Miami-Dade County Commission

3:15 PM-3:45 PM - The Business of Automated Mobility Requires an Integrated, Secure, & Scalable Cross-Domain Digital Infrastructure

This session outlines the opportunities of multi-domain automated mobility commerce and transportation and the unique challenge presented by their first in our history reliance on common digital infrastructure elements. The presentation will cover the following:

1. Background and projected economic impact of the air mobility, autonomous vehicle, and delivery drone markets.
2. Description why the future digital infrastructure required to support each of these modes will for the first time in our history share commonality.
3. Explanation of how each of these new multi-modal mobility verticals and the safety, security, and efficiency of the business of automated mobility will benefit from a robust, secure, and scalable cross-domain digital infrastructure.
4. Outline the current governmental obstacles to adopting an integrated, cross-domain approach to automated mobility infrastructure policy development, planning, and funding.
5. Recommendations to address these challenges and ensure America’s leadership in the business of automated mobility across all domains.

Mark Bathrick, Business Development Executive, Citizen Services Dell Technologies

3:30 PM-4:00 PM - Simplified Vehicle Operations (SVO) for Seamless Automated Vehicle Evolution

This presentation will summarize current state of the art understanding of Simplified Vehicle Operations that will enable different levels of increasing automation UAM vehicle operations. We will discuss the need for SVO and inherent challenges. It will also cover a user-centered approach to developing SVO user interfaces, including the key assumptions about the near and far term operational and regulatory environments, as well as the technological capabilities required to support SVO for the envisioned increasing UAM levels of automation.

Dr. Emmanuel Letsu-Dake, Principal Research & Development Engineer & Scientist, Honeywell