Wisk Aero of Mountain View, California, a leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the United States, has partnered with the City of Long Beach, California through its Long Beach Economic Partnership (LBEP) to make AAM a reality in Southern California.
Through this partnership, the two organizations will work to create an AAM working group composed of business, local government, and community leaders that will focus on evaluating, planning, and implementing AAM in Long Beach, with a focus on autonomous flight. Wisk and LBEP will co-chair the working group for an initial two-year term.
Over the next two years, the working group will examine four key areas to evaluate the opportunities and impacts that AAM represents for Long Beach. These areas include an analysis of the economic impact and workforce development, community acceptance and outreach, integration of autonomous AAM into city transportation plans, and federal and state government funding opportunities. The results of the study are expected to be completed later this year.
“We are excited to work with the City of Long Beach and LBEP in this unique partnership,” Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk said. “With its rich aerospace past, current resurgence via Space Beach, and its central position in the LA Metro area, Long Beach is an ideal city for all-electric, autonomous urban flight opportunities. Through this partnership, Long Beach has the opportunity to be one of the first cities to realize the economic and environmental benefits of AAM, as well as to lead Southern California, and the United States, in autonomous, all-electric AAM.”
“Aerospace innovation has always been a strong part of Long Beach history,” says Mayor Robert Garcia. “We have produced some of the world’s most modern aircraft, are leading in the space economy, and will now be home to new technologies in Advanced Air Mobility. We look forward to our partnership with Wisk and are proud of our local workforce who are educated, trained, and poised to make progress on these innovations.”
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RE2 Robotics, developer of intelligent mobile manipulation systems for remote robotic helicopter refueling for extended missions, maritime mine neutralization system and robotic arms, and PickNik Robotics, known for robotics software and engineering services, have announced a strategic partnership to acceleration the development of RE2’s autonomous robotic systems using PickNik’s MoveIt™ Studio motion planning software.
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UAV Factory has announced that it has rebranded as Edge Autonomy following its recent merger with Jennings Aeronautics. Headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, Edge Autonomy brings together two of the world’s leading small unmanned aerial vehicle platforms and camera payload manufacturers. Edge Autonomy is known for long-endurance tactical unmanned aircraft, and its Octopus ISR division manufactures high-end gyro-stabilized payloads. Last September, AE Industrial Partners acquired Jennings and merged it with UAV Factory.
UAV Factory has announced that it has rebranded as Edge Autonomy following its recent merger with Jennings Aeronautics. Headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, Edge Autonomy brings together two of the world’s leading small unmanned aerial vehicle platforms and camera payload manufacturers. Edge Autonomy is known for long-endurance tactical unmanned aircraft, and its Octopus ISR division manufactures high-end gyro-stabilized payloads. Last September, AE Industrial Partners acquired Jennings and merged it with UAV Factory.
