VoloIQ Aerospace Cloud Project: Volocopter and Microsoft Collaborate

Volocopter and Microsoft Collaborate on VoloIQ Aerospace Cloud Project

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M Crosby

Urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter announced today a strategic collaboration with Microsoft on the development of an aerospace cloud system in Microsoft Azure in order to meet growing cloud computing requirements for eVTOLs, UAM, and autonomous aviation.  Continue reading below or listen:

Upon becoming available for commercial use, Azure will support the digital platform VoloIQ, Volocopter’s UAM operating system, as well as its coming transition to autonomous operations.

Intended to become the standard UAM operating system for all of Volocopter’s operations, VoloIQ’s expansive modular structure will cover a wide range of areas such as 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 selected Microsoft Cloud / Azure to merge all of these UAM elements into one integrated suite 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 Volocopter’s Chief Digital Officer Alexander Oelling. “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.”

Upon guaranteeing Microsoft Azure fulfills all of VoloIQ’s requirements for commercial operations, the platform will be utilized to enable VoloIQ’s flight and service support for Volocopter’s VoloCity, VoloDrone, and VoloConnect eVTOL aircraft, as well as its VoloPort ground infrastructure, 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 Microsoft’s CVP of Cloud and AI, Uli Homann. “Working in collaboration with Volocopter, we will start to build the foundation for a commercial model for aerospace cloud.”

Volocopter and Microsoft’s initial collaboration was announced in 2020, when Volocopter and Lufthansa Industry Solutions revealed plans to develop VoloIQ for autonomous aircraft operations using Microsoft Azure.

Read more about Volocopter:

• When Will We See Passenger Drones? Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter from Amsterdam Drone Week
• Volocopter Raises $170 Million in Series E Funding, Following $200 Million Last Year
• Urban Air Mobility Could Generate Billions for Cities Around the World: Volocopter in Singapore
• Urban Air Mobility in Korea: Volocopter Conducts First Crewed Public Air Taxi Flight
• Volocopters VoloDrone Takes Flight: Electic, Heavy-Lift Utility Aircraft

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.