PR96022

REDMOND, WASHINGTON and BRUCHSAL, Germany, May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Today, Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), announced a

strategic collaboration with Microsoft to develop an aerospace cloud system in

Microsoft Azure that will address the nascent 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 [

https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/voloiq/ ]its standard UAM operating system

for all electric passenger and drone flight operations. Its modular structure

will be vast, covering aspects like booking and e-commerce, commercial

scheduling, operational network planning, flight planning, flight monitoring,

supplying airspace digital twins, and vehicle data logging and analysis.

Volocopter has chosen Microsoft Cloud / Azure to securely interconnect all

these UAM ecosystem elements into one integrated set of services.

"Having Microsoft on board as a project partner and investor is proof that the

solutions Volocopter creates – like the VoloIQ – are pioneering and hold

remarkable market potential," said Alexander Oelling, Volocopter's Chief

Digital Officer. "We're 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 begin collaborating by ensuring Microsoft Azure

meets the VoloIQ's needs for commercial operations. Azure will then enable the

VoloIQ's flight and service support for Volocopter's electric vertical takeoff

and landing (eVTOL) aircraft (VoloCity [

https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/volocity/ ], VoloDrone [

https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/volodrone/ ], and VoloConnect [

https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/voloconnect/ ]), alongside ground

infrastructure (VoloPort [ https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/voloport/ ] )

support in real time.

"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 certainly see the potential a secure,

robust, and efficient cloud platform could offer aerospace and urban air

mobility operators," said Uli Homann, CVP of Cloud and AI at Microsoft.

"Working in collaboration with Volocopter, we will start to build the

foundation for a commercial model for aerospace cloud."

The collaboration between Volocopter and Microsoft was first publicized in

2020, when Volocopter and Lufthansa Industry Solutions announced plans to

develop the VoloIQ for autonomous aircraft operations using Microsoft Azure.

The VoloIQ's aim is a straightforward one: to provide complete digital

transparency and greater ecosystem efficiency in real time. By utilizing this

digital resource, Volocopter's services – and all the relevant process elements

needed to realize this service – will be user-friendly and digitally accessible

for customers, pilots, operators, and stakeholders alike. Furthermore, the

VoloIQ's solid scope will streamline Volocopter's transition into an autonomous

air taxi services provider when the time comes and bolster its efficient

maintenance and infrastructure as soon as it becomes operational.

About Volocopter

Volocopter is building the world's first sustainable and scalable urban air

mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services for goods and people to

megacities worldwide. Volocopter leads and cooperates with partners in

infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem

necessary to 'Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life'. Volocopter has over 500

employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore. The company has raised

$579 million in equity from investors including Geely, WP Investment,

Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and BlackRock.. www.volocopter.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1626551/Volocopter_Logo.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1818599/MsAzure_Volocopter.jpg

source: Volocopter