South Korean car maker Hyundai is working with Virginia-based drone company Anra Technologies to provide urban air traffic management systems.

Hyundai’s urban air mobility division has partnered Anra, a provider of end-to-end drone operations and traffic management for unmanned system operators and airspace managers, to begin developing the operating environment for the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry.

This is the first in a series of air traffic management partnerships Hyundai plans to establish in the development of an industry consortium building the AAM operating ecosystem.

“We are pleased to partner with Anra Technologies to begin building towards the safe and efficient integration of AAM into existing airspace,” said Pamela Cohn, chief operating officer of Hyundai’s urban air mobility division. “As an emerging mobility solution, it is critical diverse parties work together to co-create the AAM ecosystem, including its necessary digital and physical infrastructure. Anra brings a unique background of operational history in the drone services sector that will help define the operating environment for all AAM vehicles.”

As part of the partnership, Anra will provide insight on Hyundai’s concept of operations for AAM airspace management and ground mobility integration. The two companies will also identify research opportunities to help inform regulatory decisions and advance infrastructure projects.

“Anra’s SmartSkies family of airspace management solutions have been proven worldwide and provide the critical support required for complex AAM operations at scale,” said Amit Ganjoo, CEO of Anra Technologies. “We take a long-term view in everything we do as a company and are looking forward to integrating our advanced technologies with the urban air mobility division of Hyundai Motor’s AAM ecosystem and sharing our knowledge and experience to ensure the success of our partnership and help move our industry safely forward.”

AAM aircraft operators require airspace management support to ensure safe and compliant operations at scale and conform to national and international regulatory requirements. The SmartSkies microservices architecture enables AAM airspace management for urban air mobility aircraft to scale and adapt to any region in the world.

The platform includes mission planning, deconfliction, tracking, monitoring, constraints management, authorisation and registration. It provides commercial AAM services for Nasa and the European Union Easa AAM initiatives.