RP1 - People:
Health & Wellbeing

  • To increase AAM awareness and trust, making it known as a reliable, accessible & affordable mobility solution to individuals, operators and communities.

    • Incorporating a collaborative partnership approach to all research activities and engagement with individuals, operators and communities.

    • To lead engagement research that identifies barriers (awareness, attitudes), needs, benefits, enablers and opportunities for AAM end-users, operators and communities in regional Australia.

    • To optimise human factors and systems integration from crewed to remote pilot and eventually autonomous operations, enhancing safety, efficiency and operational effectiveness.

Increase AAM awareness and trust, making it known as a reliable, accessible & affordable mobility solution to individuals, operators and communities.

RP2 - Operations: Physical & Digital Infrastructure

Build physical and digital infrastructure and Ecosystem for AAM ground & air operations realising future services & business.

  • To build the physical and digital infrastructure and ecosystem for advanced air mobility ground and air operations realising future services & business.

    • Creation of communication networks, navigation systems and flight management platforms, including those for air traffic management (ATM) and air traffic control (ATC), in collaboration with Airservices Australia, Thales (supportive), CASA.

    • Development of infrastructure designs and test cases for simple and cost-effective solutions including vertiports, vertihubs, vertistops, vertistrips and STOL ports, in close collaboration with Skyportz, ElectroAero, CASA and Airservices Australia.

    • Refuelling and recharging: designing and testing of fuel storage, refuelling and recharging sites and facilities, including maintenance requirements for sustainable aircraft fuel (SAF), hydrogen and electrical power.

RP3 - Technology: Air Vehicles & Clean Aviation

Advance the development, testing, and deployment of next-generation AAM vehicles, propulsion systems and avionics.

  • To advance the design, testing, and deployment of next-generation AAM vehicles for passenger and logistics services through considerations of safety features, development of sustainable propulsion systems towards net zero emissions.

    • High-rate lightweight aerostructure manufacturing​ including prototyping, testing and certification.

    • Operation-specific air vehicle architectures​ and design.

    • Avionics and fail-safe systems such as redundancy and collision avoidance solutions.

    • Propulsion systems and powertrains​ minimising environmental footprint and social impact.

RP4 - Airspace Integration: Regulation & Licencing

Provide evidence-based regulatory support for integration of AAM into Australia’s existing airspace.

  • To provide evidence-based regulatory support for integration of advanced air mobility into Australia’s existing airspace.

    • Development and testing of semi and fully autonomous RPAS and AAM vehicles for understanding of operational challenges.

    • Air operations safety and protocols focus on air/flight coordination and communication, assisted by simulated operations and later by incremental ground and flight trials.

    • Assist in reforms needed for legacy regulatory frameworks to facilitate testing, proof of concept and safe whole of life operations.