Supernal, Hyundai’s urban air mobility subsidiary, has partnered with Honeywell Aerospace to develop ground control stations for uncrewed and remotely piloted aircraft such as Supernal’s eVTOL air taxi.
Supernal plans to certify a piloted, four-passenger version of its eVTOL air taxi, called the SA-1, which is expected to enter into service in 2028. Eventually, the company aims to introduce a six-seat version of the aircraft that would fly without pilots on board.
Rather than piloting an aircraft from the flight deck, an air taxi pilot could remotely operate one or more eVTOL aircraft from a ground control station using real-time flight data, it said.
“The Honeywell ground control station features a certified, decentralized, and redundant architecture that offers persistent connectivity for remote operations,” said David Shilliday, v-p and general manager of Honeywell Aerospace’s advanced air mobility division. “This integrated solution ensures seamless and reliable command and control over remote vehicles.”
Honeywell Aerospace, which is also supplying its Anthem integrated flight deck for Supernal’s SA-1 vehicle, will work with Supernal to develop ground control software solutions for remotely piloted aircraft operating beyond the visual line of sight. According to Honeywell, this will enable the flight testing of Supernal’s first full-scale technology demonstrator, which the company hopes to debut by the end of 2024.
“The collaboration with Honeywell brings unparalleled technological prowess to our flight-test program,” said Supernal chief commercial officer Adam Slepian. “Its ground control station doesn’t just meet our current needs but also offers scalable solutions for the future.”