Microweather Data Integration, Classification, and Communication Using a Vertiport Automation System (VAS) for Safe and Efficient Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Operations

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) promises to revolutionize urban and regional transportation, offering fast, clean, and affordable travel by air. Given that AAM is expected to have high operational density and utilize urban origins and destinations, the management systems at these vertiports will need to be much more robust than the bare-bones or otherwise nonexistent systems deployed at today’s heliports. Current limitations in capturing, synthesizing, and communicating critical on-vertiport data, such as localized weather information, hinder situational awareness and increase the risk of incidents and inefficient operations. Altaport proposes the development of a robust Vertiport Automation System (VAS) module focused on microweather data integration and annunciation. This module will ingest data from TruWeather’s microweather sensors on and around vertiports, fuse it with other weather data sources (ASOS/AWOS), interpret the weather information to evaluate the likely operational impact of the weather, and present it to vertiport and aircraft operators–both human and machine–in an actionable format. The situational awareness that this module will provide is crucial for safe and scalable AAM operations. This module supports NASA’s Nontraditional Aviation Operations for Advanced Air Mobility by “develop[ing] requirements for a vertiport/airport AAM weather information system.”
Benefits: The development of the VAS weather module will directly benefit NASA's AAM mission and contribute to the advancement of aviation technology. Furthermore, it supports NASA’s Nontraditional Aviation Operations for Advanced Air Mobility by “develop[ing] requirements for a vertiport/airport AAM weather information system.” Specifically, the real-time classification functionality will classify the fused data by weather type, severity, and expected operational impact, which is a step in the progression to automating weather-related operational decisions (e.g. automatically implementing and communicating a ground stop due to inclement weather). Furthermore, integrating this module with Altaport’s VMD will significantly enhance vertiport managers’ situational awareness and decision-making ability at vertiports. This real-time, holistic view of vertiport activities will support NASA’s A3.02 goals to "improve the effectiveness or efficiency with which human operators work with increasingly autonomous airspace systems,” “leverage the benefits of human operator expertise and participation in the airspace system,” and “address challenges associated with integrating new technologies in the airspace environment that involve human participation/decision making." The development of this module will also demonstrate service-based architecture principles through interoperable APIs for AAM players and promote situational awareness in the AAM ecosystem. In addition to its direct benefits to AAM, this module will contribute to broader NASA goals, such as promoting innovation in aviation and fostering the growth of a robust AAM ecosystem. The technologies developed under this SBIR project, can be applied to a range of missions and other aviation domains. This module will provide a valuable testbed for evaluating and integrating new microweather concepts, technologies, and data, thus enabling NASA to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solutions. Altaport will commercialize the VAS primarily through licensing agreements with airports, Fixed Base Operators (FBOs), and vertiport operators. This strategy allows us to leverage existing relationships and established channels to quickly bring the VAS to market and will allow minimal-investment physical infrastructure to be utilized as a dynamic and accessible network node. By licensing the technology, we can focus on continuous development and improvement of the system, while our partners handle the installation, maintenance, and support. In addition to licensing, we will offer value-added services such as integration support, on-site training and technical support, software updates and maintenance, and custom development and integration services. Altaport already has active partnerships with airports, electric aircraft OEMs, vertiport operators, and third-party data providers (e.g. 1200.Aero, Fortem). We will actively pursue other strategic partnerships with AAM service providers, aircraft manufacturers, and technology companies to expand our reach and offer integrated solutions. We anticipate generating revenue through upfront license fees, annual maintenance and support fees, and fees for custom development services. Altaport’s VAS offers several key competitive advantages over existing generic airport management solutions. First, no fully operational, integrated VAS solutions are currently deployed. Most existing systems are manual, fragmented, and lack the advanced automation capabilities required to handle the demands of AAM. Furthermore, all vertiport softwares under development are being developed outside of the United States. Altaport is the only VAS being designed, developed, and deployed in the US. Furthermore, Altaport has already developed and deployed helipad and hangar scheduling and fee collection modules at multiple US and Brazilian airports and heliports.