To keep eVTOL air taxis safe from bird strikes, ground infrastructure developer UrbanV has teamed up with artificial intelligence specialist The Edge Company to test an automated bird monitoring system on a vertiport facility at Rome–Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino International Airport.
Originally designed to combat bird strikes at airports, The Edge Company’s bird concentration monitoring system (BCMS) employs a set of cameras and data processors to identify, track, count, and classify birds as well as drones within a 2-kilometer radius in real time. It uses artificial intelligence to determine whether a non-cooperative obstacle poses a risk to flight operations and automatically notifies the relevant authorities.
In December 2023, The Edge Company began testing the BCMS at the Fiumicino vertiport under a memorandum of understanding with UrbanV, which is in charge of the vertiport’s development. The Fiumicino vertiport is Italy’s first test site for urban air mobility infrastructure. It is located within a “regulatory sandbox,” an experimental zone designated by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority where innovators can test new technologies in controlled airspace.
“At UrbanV, our mission is to improve people’s lives by providing a fast, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly alternative for transporting people and goods over short distances by air,” said UrbanV CEO Carlo Tursi. “Our vision is to become a prominent global operator of vertiport networks, starting with Italy and France, where we are working with our founding partners to establish the first AAM routes on a global scale.”
To commemorate the launch of the UrbanV vertiport facility in October 2022, Volocopter conducted a public flight demonstration there with its 2X technology demonstrator aircraft. This occasion marked the first flight of a crewed eVTOL aircraft in Italian airspace. Volocopter has been working with airports group Aeroporti de Roma and investment group Atlantia on plans to introduce urban air mobility services in Rome since 2021. The German aircraft developer intends to have its two-seat VoloCity eVTOL air taxi certified in time to begin flying passengers at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
While bird strikes pose a risk to any type of aircraft, eVTOL aircraft will be especially susceptible because they are designed to operate at low altitudes, where the probability of encountering wildlife is greatest. Nowadays, airports typically use radar systems or binocular-equipped personnel to monitor for birds as aircraft take off and land. Despite those efforts, bird strikes cost Europe and North America at least $1.2 billion per year in aircraft repairs and flight delays, according to The Edge Company.
“With our system, which has no electromagnetic emissions and can be safely installed even in residential areas, we ensure constant situational awareness,” said company CEO Fabio Masci. “This added layer of safety benefits everyone, passengers and citizens alike.”