Volocopter Collaborates with Microsoft on VoloIQ Aerospace Cloud Project

Volo­copter has announced a strate­gic col­lab­o­ra­tion with Microsoft to devel­op an aero­space cloud sys­tem in Microsoft Azure that will address cloud com­put­ing require­ments for eVTOLs, UAM, and autonomous avi­a­tion.

Once primed for com­mer­cial use, Azure will sup­port the dig­i­tal plat­form VoloIQ, the oper­at­ing sys­tem for Volocopter’s UAM ser­vices, and its sub­se­quent tran­si­tion to autonomous oper­a­tions.

Volo­copter plans to make the VoloIQ its stan­dard UAM oper­at­ing sys­tem for all elec­tric pas­sen­ger and drone flight oper­a­tions, with a mod­u­lar struc­ture cov­er­ing book­ing and e‑commerce, com­mer­cial sched­ul­ing, oper­a­tional net­work plan­ning, flight plan­ning, flight mon­i­tor­ing, sup­ply­ing air­space dig­i­tal twins, and vehi­cle data log­ging and analy­sis.

Volocopter’s chief dig­i­tal offi­cer Alexan­der Oelling said: “Hav­ing Microsoft on board as a project part­ner and investor is proof that solu­tions like VoloIQ hold remark­able mar­ket poten­tial.

“We are proud that Microsoft Azure is the one to pro­vide a secure cloud and thus to ensure safe­ty remains at the fore­front of our oper­a­tions.” 

Volo­copter and Microsoft will col­lab­o­rate to enable flight and ser­vice sup­port for VoloC­i­ty, Volo­Drone, and Volo­Con­nect eVTOL air­craft, along­side Volo­Port ground infra­struc­ture real time sup­port. 

Microsoft’s CVP of cloud and AI Uli Homann added: “From the newest tech­nolo­gies to reg­u­la­tion, cre­at­ing solu­tions to seam­less­ly address the cloud com­put­ing require­ments for sup­port­ing con­tin­ued advance­ments in avi­a­tion is a com­plex endeav­or.

“We see the poten­tial a secure, robust, and effi­cient cloud plat­form could offer aero­space and urban air mobil­i­ty oper­a­tors, and we will build the foun­da­tion for com­mer­cial aero­space by col­lab­o­rat­ing with Volo­copter.”

The col­lab­o­ra­tion between Volo­copter and Microsoft was first announced in Octo­ber 2020, when Volo­copter and Lufthansa Indus­try Solu­tions revealed plans to devel­op VoloIQ using Microsoft Azure.

VoloIQ’s aim is to pro­vide dig­i­tal trans­paren­cy and ecosys­tem effi­cien­cy in real time, where process ele­ments will be avail­able to cus­tomers, pilots, oper­a­tors, and stake­hold­ers alike. 

VoloIQ’s will stream­line Volocopter’s tran­si­tion into an autonomous air taxi ser­vices provider and bol­ster effi­cient main­te­nance and infra­struc­ture when it becomes oper­a­tional.

In May 2021, Volo­copter unveiled its newest Volo­Conect eVTOL air­craft as a longer-range, four-seater designed to com­ple­ment Volo­Drone, Volo­Port and VoloIQ.