NASA is helping shape the future of urban air travel with new modeling that will guide how electric air taxis and drones can operate successfully in busy areas.
The demonstration, held at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley earlier this year, focused on a system called Strategic Deconfliction Modeling that helps coordinate flight plans before takeoff, reducing the risk of conflicts in busy urban environments.
At the event, researchers demonstrated NASA's Situational Viewer and Demand and Capacity Balancing Monitor, which visualizes air traffic and adjusts flight plans in real time. The simulation demonstrated traffic scenarios involving drone operations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, testing how pre-scheduled flights could reduce congestion and manage airspace demand and capacity, ensuring all aircraft could operate smoothly even in crowded conditions.
Working with industry partners is critical to NASA's efforts to develop and advance the technologies needed for future air mobility. During the simulation, ANRA Technologies demonstrated its fleet and vertiport management systems, which are designed to support the coordination of multiple aircraft and ground operations.
“Simulation of these complex environments supports broader efforts to ensure the safe integration of drones and other advanced vehicles into U.S. airspace,” said Hanbong Lee, an engineer at NASA Ames. “By demonstrating these capabilities, we are providing important data and lessons learned to support NASA and industry efforts.”
This demonstration is another step toward the NASA team's plan to conduct capability level simulations in 2026. This upcoming simulation will help shape the development of services aimed at managing aircraft flying in urban areas.
The simulation was created by a NASA team from its Air Mobility Pathfinders The project is part of the agency's ongoing efforts to find solutions to safely integrate new innovative aircraft, such as air taxis, into U.S. cities and national airspace. By developing advanced assessments and simulations, the project supports safe, scalable and publicly trusted air travel in urban areas, paving the way for a future in which air taxis and drones become a safe and reliable part of everyday life.
The project is under the control of NASA. Airspace Operations and Safety Programwhich provides safe and efficient air travel.
