At Frazer-Nash we are involved in the development and integration of the underlying technologies that have an application in this fast-growing sub-sector, including the decarbonisation of air travel.
Some of our key areas of skills and interests in the AAM sector are highlighted below:
- Autonomy: We see autonomy as a key future enabler of AAM and a key requirement to enable the success of future mobility from both operational efficiency and safety perspectives. The main benefits of using autonomy over automation is the ability for a system to react to unexpected and complex situations that require increased awareness. This allows future air platforms to cope with the unexpected and to be able to make fast decisions in very complicated problem spaces i.e. urban environments.
- Decarbonisation: Our expertise in decarbonising aviation includes battery and hydrogen fuel cell powered aircrafts, as well as the zero-emission infrastructure that enable this technology. We understand the challenges of complex systems integration in future air mobility vehicles, as well as assuring and certifying their performance. We work with government and industry to identify the technology requirements and solutions to support the UK’s Net Zero target.
- Safety, Cyber Security, Airworthiness and Certification: We work extensively with system integrators, developers and procuring agencies to ensure that systems are developed and integrated safely, securely and in accordance with required standards. Our teams have extensive knowledge of DO236A, ISO26262, DO178/254, ARP 4754A and ARP 4761. We have recently led a consortium of industry experts to develop safety argument structures for assuring the safety of a system that ‘thinks for itself’.
- System Modelling: For AAM to be successfully deployed, the commercials need to stack up. At Frazer-Nash we are skilled in the development of models for complex systems of systems, assisting customers and investors to understand, explore and enable the big picture. We utilise tools including Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), advanced modelling and simulation, analytical data science and machine learning to flow down the simplest system level requirements into detailed workstreams.
Our staff hold a variety of key roles within the sector including for example:
- Chair of the ADS Advanced Air Mobility Special Interest Group.
- Chair of ARPAS-UK, the UK's professional drone trade body.