Asian Surveying & Mapping
Breaking News
Australia and UK tie up for navigation without GNSS
Airborne navigation without GNSS is the aim of a...
Market size, technical gaps threaten Taiwan’s space dream
As global players like SpaceX dominate headlines, Taiwan is...
China quietly tested its first inflatable space module in orbit
BREMEN, Germany — China tested out a small expandable...
Isro Signs Agreement with Australian Space Agency for Gaganyaan Mission
Isro Signs Agreement with Australian Space Agency for Gaganyaan...
ESA and Japan expand collaboration in space exploration
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace...
Korea’s space development to hit wall without private sector initiative
The private sector should take the initiative in South...
India’s Chandrayaan-2 moon orbiter avoids collision with South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft
India's Chandrayaan-2 moon orbiter maneuvered in September to avoid...
Dubai residents may soon have opportunity to travel to the edge of space
Residents of Dubai may soon have the chance to...
Swift Navigation and KDDI Launch Skylark Precise Positioning Service Across Japan
SAN FRANCISCO and TOKYO - Swift Navigation, a global...
Thailand plays host to Southeast Asia’s largest space technology event
Thailand Space Week 2024, the region’s premier international space...

October 8th, 2018
PTC PLM to Enable Development of Volocopter’s Autonomous Air Taxis

NEEDHAM, Mass.- PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) today announced that German start-up Volocopter has selected PTC’s Windchill® product lifecycle management (PLM) solution for the development of its autonomous flying transportation systems. Windchill will record, configure, and secure interdisciplinary product structures, requirements descriptions and documents, and manage mechanical, aerodynamic, and electronic CAD models and the associated system software.

Powerful technical functionality and seamless interaction with extensive requirements management and IoT capabilities were decisive in Volocopter’s selection of PTC’s PLM solution.

  • Windchill ensures rapid new development by amassing cross-company information at an early stage in the development, production, and testing processes.
  • The system’s integrated requirements management functionality support comprehensive coverage of market and regulatory requirements.
  • And its strong capabilities around gathering processing measurement and sensor data from test and experimental setups and prototypes enable fast reaction for effective development.

Volocopter was founded in 2011 and aims to revolutionize urban mobility with its autonomous air taxis. The company has developed the world’s first, purely electrically powered, autonomous multicopter, which is based on drone technology and is large enough to carry two people. The Volocopter is emission-free, very quiet, and stable in flight. The fully redundant power train, driven by 18 independently-controlled propulsion rotors and an intelligent autonomous control system, make the Volocopter one of the safest aircrafts. The company is supported, among others, by its strategic investors Daimler and Intel.

“We are creating tomorrow’s mobility solution in the third dimension. Urban air taxis are a completely new market, and we are treading on new ground every day,” said Jan-Hendrik Boelens, CTO of Volocopter. “The modular Windchill PLM system gives us the necessary flexibility to grow and stay at the forefront of innovation, while managing all our product data consistently through one central platform.”

Windchill provides a single source of truth for product data and processes to stakeholders throughout an organization. With PLM, organizations can improve product quality by connecting teams directly to live operational data. It can also help reduce IT burden and overhead, while ensuring accessibility and security with both on-premise and cloud deployment options. Windchill is an end-to-end PLM platform that is IoT-ready.

Volocopter plans to connect its machines and supporting infrastructure systems. Windchill, coupled with PTC’s ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation Platform, will provide role-based applications to enable improved collaboration, as well as enable the imaging of digital twins to predict and test aircraft behavior in the physical world. Valuable data collected during operation will flow back into the product design process to ensure true closed-loop lifecycle management. This form of development can help Volocopter further expand its current competitive advantage.

“Emerging technologies and breakthrough innovations are not possible without a solid product development solution in place. PLM is that foundation, making its adoption more important than ever for innovative companies like Volocopter,” said Kevin Wrenn, divisional general manager, PLM Segment, PTC. “This spirited start-up has taken the first step to successfully impacting the transformation of mobility as we know it. We look forward to supporting Volocopter in defining and implementing their IoT strategy.”

About Volocopter
Volocopter is the global leader in the development of electrical vertical take-off and landing multicopters (eVTOL) as autonomous air taxis for the safe transport of people. The technical platform is extremely flexible and permits piloted, remote controlled, and fully autonomous flight. In addition, the unique design offers unprecedented degrees of safety based on the high level of redundancy in all critical components. As early as 2011 the company earned its entry into the history of aviation through the manned flight of the world’s first purely electrical multicopter. Since then the young enterprise has set new milestones: In 2016 Volocopter was granted provisional licensing for a two-seater Volocopter by the German aviation authority and in 2017 the aviation start-up showcased the first ever autonomous flight of an air taxi in cooperation with RTA Dubai. In the meantime, the founders Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel have gathered a team of experienced managers like CEO Florian Reuter and CTO Jan-Hendrik. This paved the way for the further expansion of the company. Daimler, Intel and Lukasz Gadowski are among the investors in the company.

Website: volocopter.com | YouTube: youtube.com/volocopter

About PTC (NASDAQ: PTC)
PTC helps companies around the world reinvent the way they design, manufacture, operate, and service products in and for a smart, connected world. In 1986 we revolutionized digital 3D design, and in 1998 were first to market with Internet-based product lifecycle management. Today, our leading industrial innovation platform and field-proven solutions enable you to unlock value at the convergence of the physical and digital worlds. With PTC, manufacturers and an ecosystem of partners and developers can capitalize on the promise of the Internet of Things and augmented reality technology today and drive the future of innovation.

PTC.com @PTC Blogs

The announcement of selection of PTC products is not necessarily indicative of the timing of recognition of revenue there from or the level of revenue for any particular period. Planned future product implementations may not occur as expected.

PTC, Windchill, ThingWorx, and the PTC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.