The Texas Department of Transportation is taking the lead in advanced air mobility, which includes unmanned drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing—or eVTOL—aircraft, to transport people and materials. Sergio Roman, the director of emerging aviation technology under the aviation division, led a discussion on the future of advanced air mobility.
Project Nexus
In March, the Federal Aviation Administration bestowed TxDOT with Project Nexus under the integration pilot program, or eIPP. This project aims to provide the FAA with empirical data to draft permanent regulations around advanced air mobility. Roman said Houston will play a vital role in this undertaking as an immense industrial coastal corridor.
TxDOT’s current planning efforts involve identifying aerial pathways along state-owned highways, mapping existing grid feeds, creating the first siting and design manual for municipal adoption, and incorporating air transit into regional long-range transportation plans. TxDOT has partnered with several aircraft developers to obtain their final aircraft-type certifications.
Phases of Project Nexus
Roman broke down Project Nexus into crawl, walk, and run strategies, with each phase projected to last no more than one year. Phase 1, or the crawl strategy, will involve testing available technology and infrastructure by existing aircraft and helicopters, identifying airport locations, examining cybersecurity, and gathering data for the FAA.
Phase 2, or the walk strategy, means regional integration will take place across the Texas Triangle in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin; medical and emergency response partners will be initiated; and pilot and mechanic certifications will be monitored along with workload standards/conditions.
Phase 3, or the run strategy, will begin with scaling the multistate network, analyzing grid capacity and charging capabilities, in addition to refining stakeholder coordination. At that point, semiautonomous and autonomous aircraft will be expected to perform certain tasks; passengers can potentially use aerial ride services; and universities and trade schools will have the curriculum to populate the workforce necessary to support these endeavors.
Original reporting: Community Impact — Houston — read the source article.
