Cohort announced for Future of Air Mobility accelerator

Ten specialist companies have been welcomed onto the Future of Air Mobility accelerator, a six month programme designed to trial disruptive new innovations in the aviation sector.

Connected Places Catapult will support the small to medium sized companies (SMEs) by providing investment readiness coaching, advice on technology and product development, and introductions to potential customers.

Each company accepted onto the cohort has put forward a solution to one of five challenges: Integration of Future Air Mobility into existing transport networks; Future Airport & Vertiport Operations; Future Airport Security Operations; Decarbonising Future Air Mobility; and Inclusive Passenger Accessibility.

The Future of Air Mobility accelerator is delivered by the Catapult in partnership with the Future Flight Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Partners on the programme are Ferrovial, Heathrow Airport, the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority, British Standards Institution, Cranfield University and Coventry University.

The ten firms welcomed onto the Future of Air Mobility accelerator, and their challenge areas, are:

About:Energy (Decarbonising Future Air Mobility)

Providing data and models to improve decision making through a battery’s life cycle; helping industries to accelerate the development of electrified products.

Hello Lamp Post (Inclusive Passenger Accessibility)

Using digital assistants to help people navigate an airport, receive information and instant assistance. Its intelligent communication platform allows two-way conversations through interactive touch points.

Meteomatics (Integration of Future Air Mobility)

Creating precision forecasts of the weather’s impact on businesses. Its autonomous ‘meteo-drone’ plus high resolution weather models provide visibility down to a single square kilometre.

NW PRO (Future Airport Security Operations)

Determining the geometry of objects placed in airport security screening trays, to alert operators to misplaced or oversized items that can cause problems and delays.

OneSky Systems (Future Airport & Vertiport Operations)

Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) software for safe, scalable and integrated management of aviation, including enabling electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) services such as air taxis.

Optimal Cities (Integration of Future Air Mobility)

Providing an interface that integrates future air mobility – from site search and analysis to planning and monitoring infrastructure – using satellites, AI and human expertise.

Optimse-AI (Decarbonising Future Air Mobility)

Using digital twins and Generative AI to explore asset performance to help reduce energy and carbon emissions, and enhance operations, across airport sites.

Sequestim (Future Airport Security Operations)
Exploiting astronomy technology to create walk-through security body scanners detecting even tiny objects beneath and between clothing.

Virtual Tour Experts (Inclusive Passenger Accessibility)

Providing immersive virtual tours within the transport sector, to help improve passengers’ travel experience, especially for those with anxiety or mobility issues.

WeWALK (Inclusive Passenger Accessibility)

Enhancing the mobility of visually impaired people in airports using a new service called WeASSIST where users can remotely reach professionally trained, sighted guides using an app.

To read more about the 10 SMEs on the Accelerator programme view the cohort brochure below.