Urban and Universal collaborate to enhance CityHawk safety

A partnership between Urban Aeronautics and Universal Avionics aims to offer improved weather and traffic handling, and enhanced landing and ground movement by helping the CityHawk navigate city infrastructures.

Urban Aeronautics has agreed a partnership with Universal Avionics. The collaboration will pair Universal's ClearVision Enhanced Flight Vision System with the Aperture Advanced Video Management Device on the CityHawk air taxi and EMS vehicles.

The partnership will offer improved weather and traffic handling, heightened night vision, and enhanced landing and ground movement by assisting the CityHawk in navigating city infrastructures. Universal will provide a wearable headset for pilots, a sensor package, a sensor fusion and augmented reality platform that it says will increase situational awareness and improve decision making for the pilot of a CityHawk.

“Our mission at Universal Avionics is to shape the future of aviation by creating commercial avionics solutions that enhance safety and efficiency, and to deliver an outstanding customer experience. We are thrilled to bring our best-in-class technology to the urban air mobility space,” says Universal Avionics CEO Dror Yahav. “We know eVTOLs are the future, and we're happy to have a partner that is both innovative and advanced with this unique technology.”

“This partnership is particularly exciting in that it offers the CityHawk and our pilots improved visibility and agility for every ride, whether it be transferring passengers from an office building downtown to an apartment building downtown or evacuating a patient to a hospital,” adds Urban Aeronautics CEO Nimrod Golan-Yanay. “As a pilot for over 25 years, I know firsthand how powerful this technology is, and what a valuable step this partnership is in making urban air mobility a safe and enjoyable reality for both pilots and passengers.”

The announcement comes as Urban Aeronautics prepares to close its Series A funding round. Recent partnerships include Urban's research deal with London-based Skyports to explore requirements for eVTOL infrastructure in the Middle East region, and another agreement between Urban and California-based Hypoint to adapt hydrogen-fuel-cell technology for aviation.