Joby, an industry leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft development, has unveiled its air taxi software system after receiving regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The ElevateOS software will allow Joby to provide on-demand air taxi operations with a whole suite of services, including pilot tools, operations and schedule management, and a customer-facing app for ordering an air taxi.
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Eri Allison, chief product officer at Joby, said the system was inspired by the ridesharing apps used by companies such as Uber, with Joby developing its system after acquiring Uber’s air taxi division, Uber Elevate, in 2021.
Allison said: “The air taxi service we plan to deliver isn’t like any sort of air travel that’s existed before. We expect travellers to book on-demand and to be boarding an aircraft just minutes later, much like the experience of using ground-based ridesharing today.
“That required us to totally rethink the software and the operations of these aircraft.”
While unveiling the technology, Joby said it had already been able to test many its key functions by utilising its Part 135 airline certificate from the FAA to conduct commercial flights with a four-seat Cirrus SR22 aircraft.
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By GlobalDataAspects tested by Joby include integration with its on-demand passenger service app, matching passengers with similar routes, integration of the Joby pilot app and back-end software, and taking payments for whole-aircraft chartered flights.
Joby said it plans on using the system for its own commercial services and will also offer it to “selected partners” as part of a larger services packages revolving around its eVTOL aircraft.
Alongside announcing its new software, Joby also revealed a range of milestones it had reached in its operations as it continues to build up to launching commercial operations in 2025.
Among these was the development of an aircraft-specific training course that will allow qualified commercial pilots to retrain for Joby’s eVTOL in just six weeks, and the creation of a comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul strategy.
Bonny Simi, president of operations at Joby, said: “We are leading the industry in the certification and manufacturing of our electric air taxi as well as in our preparations for commercial service.
“This is rigorous work that is required for any company to provide efficient and seamless air taxi operations, and many of these items have been years in the making.”
Alongside its operational preparation, Joby has also been making agreements with authorities and businesses around the world ahead of launching its air taxis, including one signed in the UAE earlier this year to launch services between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
