Swiss Aviation Software (Swiss-AS) and Volocopter have co-signed a landmark multi-year contract for AMOS, Swiss-AS's maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) software. AMOS will be used to manage Volocopter's eVTOL aircraft fleet worldwide. Seamless software integration will ensure continued fleet airworthiness, offer aircraft reliability monitoring and analysis, and act as an interface to Volocopter's proprietary digital operating system, the VoloIQ. This is the first time Swiss-AS is collaborating in an urban air mobility (UAM) setting, a key development as Volocopter prepares for entry into service in 2024.

As the UAM industry pioneer, Volocopter is set to receive type certification (TC) in 2024 for its VoloCity, a two seater electric air taxi built for city use. The company will be the first to launch commercial services in Europe that meet the same very high safety standards commercial airliners must satisfy. Besides product certification, a successful industry launch and future operations scale-up require a solid UAM ecosystem. Plus, eVTOL fleets in global megacities will need to deliver fast turnaround times to maximise vertiport and airport space and provide an efficient customer service.

AMOS excels at managing vehicle configuration traceability throughout its life cycle, a critical aspect of proper aircraft fleet maintenance. Furthermore, such aspects include component design/purchase dates, installation/replacement dates and total operating hours. AMOS will also monitor ground handling operations, deploy the relevant tools and manage ground staff assignments. Ground technicians will use AMOSmobile/EXEC, a touch-optimised mobile maintenance solution for 'live' data streams. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) will enable reliability monitoring to improve fleet management efficiency.

Meanwhile, Volocopter's VoloIQ backbone will monitor customer-facing services like the booking process, as well as aircraft location and status, and battery health. Interlinking Volocopter's air and ground-side operations will create a fast, transparent and safe fleet management system to support eVTOL operations scaling.

Swiss-AS CEO Fabiano Faccoli says: “We are looking forward to stepping into the future of urban air mobility with Volocopter. Signing with Volocopter is confirmation that AMOS stands for innovation. All Swiss-AS employees received the news with excitement, and we look forward to cooperating with the UAM pioneer Volocopter, which is designing the customer journey from A to Z while complying with the highest safety standards.”

Volocopter chief risk and certification officer Oliver Reinhardt adds: “With Swiss-AS as a partner, Volocopter is making strides to ensure that the maintenance of our VoloCity is managed and executed efficiently and is foolproof. The AMOS software has a proven track record in the aviation industry, giving us confidence to obtain our Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) and Maintenance Organisation Approval (MOA), which are essential for our entry into service. Its compatibility with our VoloIQ is a must to provide outstanding customer service.”

Seamless and efficient maintenance and ground-side operations ensure the safety of passengers, ground crew and aircraft, simultaneously enabling the fast scaling of the UAM ecosystem. Volocopter is strengthening all areas of its ecosystem, namely product certification, production, air and now maintenance and ground-side operations. This industry-first collaboration between Swiss-AS and Volocopter will build the foundation and deliver best practices that will permit ongoing improvements to future eVTOL operations.