Weather Information Systems at Heliports and Vertiports for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

The need for advance air mobility (AAM) platforms to take off and land at locations distant from traditional weather information systems (WIS) has driven the requirement for a WIS design process to be developed and used to construct new vertiports and upgrade existing heliports that will be utilized for AAM. TruWeather Solutions Inc. (TruWeather) intends to architect a WIS design process that enables a tailored and performance-based approach to WIS capable of meeting the needs of the rapidly changing AAM community and conforming to ASTM F3673-23. TruWeather will engage with stakeholders, conduct literature reviews, develop the aforementioned WIS design process, and guide NASA and stakeholders towards ideal locations for actualization. TruWeather intends to use funding for compensation of manpower and subcontractors engaging in research and deliverables as well as travel necessary to conduct stakeholder engagement. The design plan proposed can be leveraged by government and non-government entities to develop policy, aid in infrastructure development, and guide OEMs towards identifying the proper solution for the vast variability in market uses of AAM.
Benefits: The proposed project supports NASA’s AAM Mission as well as the infrastructure initiatives that have been identified in NASA’s AAM Playbook. Creating a WIS design process will enable safe take-off and landing at any given future heliport or vertiport accepting AAM platforms. The proposed design process enables the creation of policy that is adaptable to the rapidly changing AAM community as well as any WIS of the future. The proposed design process will allow scale of WIS infrastructure as vertiports become more prevalent outside of high interest or key locations, ultimately enabled by cost effective solutions that best fit each vertiport location and use case. This proposal will help fulfil NASA’s vision of integrating new forms of transportation into existing airspace safely while increasing accessibility. This proposal has multiple commercial applications, capable of serving OEMs focused on AAM, logistics, and traditional aviation and aerospace. A flexible WIS design process will enable AAM OEMs meet go-to-market timelines as well as meet long term goals for expansion by allowing vertiport designers to utilize weather infrastructure that best fits the needs and location of each vertiport based on performance-based sensor standards and vertiport use cases. Logistics companies will be capable of obtaining quality data at vertiports, enabling planning of product movement around AAM limitations, maintaining maximum profitability of supply chains. Lastly, traditional aviation can utilize the proposed design process to better enhance existing heliports and airports. While traditional aviation platforms are more resilient to weather than AAM platforms, the concepts behind a performance-based sensor and the investment in new and novel WIS can aid in enhancing safety and efficiency at lower costs around these locations.