Revolution Aerospace Australia (RevAero) Enabling Regional Aerial Logistics and Air Taxi Operations

Media Release: 2nd August 2023

Revolution Aerospace (RevAero) was awarded a $5.3 million Round 1 – Emerging Aviation Technologies Partnership (EATP) Program grant from the Commonwealth Government, undertaking a project that seeks to Enable Regional Aerial logistics and Air Taxi Operations with Unified Traffic Management.

The project grant is designed to maximise opportunity for Australian emerging aviation technology researchers, developers, and manufacturers into the future by breaking down regulatory barriers through advanced, safe, and globally informed enabling technology – developed in Australia.

Revolution Aerospace are leading a consortium of world-recognised industry partners in the emerging aviation technologies sector; Thales Australia and the Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS). The consortium will examine several critical enabling technologies including Detect and Avoid (DAA), Unified Traffic Management (UTM) and Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based cargo delivery.

In the first instance, RevAero is developing a Detect and Avoid (DAA) payload, in addition to drafting a Test Method guideline in partnership with TAS. Separately, RevAero is developing a UTM in partnership with Thales which incorporates a suite of centralised management services alongside integrated airspace management functionality.

Through the application of both enabling technologies, RevAero will demonstrate how the distribution of people and product, at scale, can be achieved.

The first key stage of the 18-month project saw the completion of a set of initial flight trials in May 2023, at the Qinetiq Queensland Flight Test Range in Cloncurry. These trials were conducted with the appropriate approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), and stress tested many months of UA and DAA prototype development at RevAero, using a selection of RevAero’s fleet of fixed and rotary wing Vertical Take-off and Lift (VTOL) UAS.

The DAA testing employed an array of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) encounter profiles between RevAero aircraft and a crewed helicopter, with significant improvements in the DAA system performance observed.

Whilst in Cloncurry, RevAero was proud to host the Year 11 class from Cloncurry State School during the trial, offering the class a hands-on day showcasing STEM in the workplace.

Image: Revolution Aerospace and Qinetiq teams with Cloncurry State School STEM students

RevAero will conduct a major trial in the Whitsunday’s region in the beginning of 2024, bringing together all technology elements to showcase how first, middle, and last mile operations can be successfully achieved in complex uncontrolled airspace.

About the consortium

The RevAero mission of “Benefitting society through revolutionary advances in autonomous systems technologies” is firmly aligned with the purpose of the EATP program, exploring the utility of emerging aviation technologies to address community needs, particularly in regional Australia.

More information about the key players in the project:

Revolution Aerospace (RevAero) - As the consortium lead, the collective experience of the RevAero team in the autonomous systems sector, particularly Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and UAS Traffic Management (UTM), is fundamental to the deployment and scaling of emerging aviation technology across regional Australia. Since establishment in 2021, RevAero has a team of 20 dedicated engineers, researchers, and subject matter experts (SMEs) in autonomous systems. RevAero co-founders, Dr Terry Martin (CEO) and Mr Kristian Cruickshank (CTO) hold a wealth of experience leading and managing large-scale Emerging Aviation Technologies projects with governments and partners across the global.

Thales - Thales Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air traffic management and ground transport systems to security systems and services. Thales Australia employs around 3,800 people directly and supports over 2,051 job along its Australian supply chain. In 2020 Thales Australia spent $657 million with 1,841 Australia suppliers, of which 82% are SMEs. Since 2018 Thales Australia has spent over $1.9 billion with local Australian businesses.

Thales Australia has a history of patient investment to build advanced in-country capability across manufacturing, critical systems and services. Close collaborative relationships with local customers, Australian SME suppliers and research institutions combined with technology transfer from our global business enables Thales to tailor high quality solutions for Australian and export markets, generating revenue of $1.6 billion in exports over the past 10 years.

Trusted Autonomous Systems- A leading autonomous and robotic cooperative research centre (CRC) in Australia facilitating trusted and effective cooperation between humans and machines.

The project will take place in the Whitsunday Coast, Melbourne and RevAero's headquarters in South-East Queensland.

For further information on the project, queries can be sent to eatp@revn.aero

Revolution Aerospace Australia (RevAero) Enabling Regional Aerial Logistics and Air Taxi Operations

Media Release 25th July 2023

Revolution Aerospace (RevAero) is proud to announce the expansion of their Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based cargo delivery capability, with the recent procurement of the Anavia HT-100; lifting payloads over 55kg and with over 4 hours of endurance. The high-tech aircraft is manufactured in Switzerland, and due to be delivered in the second half of the year.

The platform significantly enhances RevAero’s intent to transport meaningful payloads out to regional and remote communities and is a critical enabler for an 18-month program being undertaken with the support of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication, and the Arts (DITRDCA) under the Emerging Aviation Technologies Program (EATP). The project is titled ‘Regional Aerial Logistics and Air Taxi Operations with Unified Traffic Management’, where RevAero will demonstrate how the distribution of people and product can be achieved, at scale.

The capstone activity for the project is a wide-scale demonstration in the Whitsunday region in early 2024. This demonstration will showcase end-to-end delivery of cargo, incorporating a variety of drone types, delivery distances and scenarios, in complex uncontrolled airspace environments. Several complex Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) trials are being undertaken in the lead up to demonstration, advancing RevAero’s test methodologies and building a layered safety case toward the eventual Demonstration.

Dr Terry Martin, RevAero Co-Founder and CEO commented on the HT-100:

“The suite of research and flight testing we’re undertaking will undoubtedly benefit regional and remote pockets of Australia. However, I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is to choose the right technology for the task if we are to make our aspirations for wide-scale cargo delivery to regional communities a reality. And that’s why my team has put extensive effort into selecting appropriate aircraft and support equipment to get the job done, safely.

Our decision to select the ANAVIA HT-100 was driven by our confidence in both the technology ANAVIA has produced, but also the level of support they are providing to ensure we meet our operational requirements. The degree of design and systems engineering rigour, supported by quality manufacture and production processes means the platform is what we endearingly call “aviation grade”.

This will be an increasingly important attribute, as we look to conduct more advanced operations under the JARUS SORA[1]. RevAero maintains open and regular communication with our regulator, … who I have to say, have been exceptional in helping our staff navigate the regulatory approval process in areas never conducted before.”

Image: Artist’s impression of Revolution Aerospace ANAVIA HT-100, final livery to be unveiled in late 2023.

RevAero maintains a genuine commitment to strengthen the Australian Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) ecosystem. Their efforts working with manufacturers, regulatory and governmental bodies, and importantly, stakeholders in regional communities will be shared through the provision of periodic updates in the lead up to the Demonstration; to assist other organisations and ultimately help accelerate the growth of the Australian UAS ecosystem.

About RevAero

The RevAero mission of “Benefitting society through revolutionary advances in autonomous systems technologies” is firmly aligned with the purpose of the EATP program, exploring the utility of emerging aviation technologies to address community needs, particularly in regional Australia.

Revolution Aerospace (RevAero) - As the consortium lead, the collective experience of the RevAero team in the autonomous systems sector, particularly Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and UAS Traffic Management (UTM), is fundamental to the deployment and scaling of emerging aviation technology across regional Australia. Since establishment in 2021, RevAero has a team of 20 dedicated engineers, researchers, and subject matter experts (SMEs) in autonomous systems. RevAero co-founders, Dr Terry Martin (CEO) and Mr Kristian Cruickshank (CTO) hold a wealth of experience leading and managing large-scale Emerging Aviation Technologies projects with governments and partners across the globe.

Get in touch

For further information on the project, queries can be sent to eatp@revn.aero

References [1] The Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems Specific Operations Risk Assessment.

ANAVIA

ANAVIA, Switzerland - Is a Swiss based aviation company specializing in the design, development & manufacturing of vertical take-off & landing (VTOL) systems of up to 500 kilograms. The company offers industry leading uncrewed helicopter systems for various mission profiles such as Surveillance & Reconnaissance, Inspection or Cargo.

For further information on ANAVIA, queries can be sent to Info@anavia.eu

RevAero Year in Review - 2022!

RevAero celebrated another milestone year with our whole team at Stratton Newstead!

2022 brought RevAero numerous gifts, in the form of extraordinarily talented teammates and incredible problem spaces for us to sink our teeth into. Our people have developed an enviable team culture, and the dedication to achieving the vision of our founders has been unrelenting, which has contributed to the outcome of our year.

To recap on some of our successes, here is the 2022 RevAero year in review:

• January – We were awarded a significant grant from the Queensland government, teaming with QUT (Queensland University of Technology) to build a low-cost cognitive electronic system hosted on an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV), driven forward by our Zi, Fraser, Anju and Akila.

• February – Amidst a world recovering from lockdown, RevAero represented Australia at the Singapore Airshow as a Team Defence Australia delegate, represented by Caelan, Mel and Terry.

• March – Our first all company conference at AAUS, supporting the UAS industry as Platinum event sponsors and presenting on our Detect and Avoid technologies and Unified Traffic Management R&D threads.

• April – Our co-founders, Terry and Kristian, led and presented at the UAS Xponential in Florida on capturing and mitigating air risk.

• May

• Our Terry Martin, attended the JARUS WG-SRM as the Qualitative Methods (QM) lead, held at the EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) headquarters in Cologne, Germany.

• We became an ArduPilot Partner!

• June

• Our talented Rowan Carter presented at Rotortech sharing his experiences, as a former Royal Australian Air Force armaments engineer, providing insight to a century of overall aviation experience in this field, and how these can benefit the #RPAS community (through stores design certification, maintenance, and safe release).

• RevAero received our ReOC to operate Sub-7kg Aeroplanes and Sub-25kg Multi-rotor and Powered Lift Remotely Piloted Aircraft.

• July – Our talented Diego Rossotti, had a feature article in the Army’s CASbiz, showcasing his tremendous efforts on enabling cutting edge technologies in the UAS space.

• August/September - Our inspiring Ali Duggan was a part of a RevAero contingent in Singapore, driving the evolvement of our UTM offerings.

• October – Our PhD candidates, Zi and Fraser, attended the 59th Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention in Washington and AOC event in Adelaide.

• November – We were awarded a $5.3 million grant by the Australian Government for our Regional Aerial logistics and Air Taxi Operations with Unified Traffic Management project, with our partners (Thales, Volo and TAS), to be driven forward by our talented COO Mike Sampson, R&D Engineer Sarasi and Systems Engineer Angus.

• December – We welcomed our Senior Operations and Capability advisor Dan Jachimowicz. We are also offering new opportunities to join the team. If you’re inspired to join us in our journey to enable revolutionary advances in autonomous systems technologies, reach out! Put your CV in to us (jobs@revn.aero) and be a part of a team!

Check out our ads listings on Seek for more: https://www.seek.com.au/job/59480194?type=standout#sol=d101d93369c25e7a645b3463a0c248bb11a28284

We are so proud of our small team, their commitment to autonomous systems technologies and their drive to challenge and grow themselves every day.

We know 2023 is going to be an even bigger year, but we couldn’t be more ready!