Telefonica Tecg said that the main aim of the alliance is to boost Urban Air Mobility in Europe and Latin America
Telefonica Tech announced an alliance with EHang, which makes electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) for the transport of passengers and cargo without a pilot on board.
In a release, the Spanish company said that the main aim of the alliance is to boost urban air mobility, deploying smart aerial solutions and driving the growing low-altitude economy in Europe and Latin America.
Under the terms of this alliance, both companies intend to implement use cases in Europe and Latin America around air mobility, smart city management and aerial media solutions in areas as diverse as passenger transport, logistics, health services, emergency response and smart cities management.
The agreement also stipulates that Telefónica and EHang will collaborate on “drone light shows” with swarms of drones to digitalize and increase the sustainability of large-scale shows and events.
Telefonica Tech highlighted that connectivity plays a key role in the development and integration of urban air mobility as 5G mobile networks have the capacity to guarantee reliable communications, low latency and high data transmission capacity. These characteristics make it possible to optimize the real-time control and monitoring of aircraft by sending telemetry or multimedia data to both ground control systems and centralized public information systems for immediate processing and management, the company said.
The two companies have set out to develop connectivity solutions based on mobile networks for the safe and efficient integration of drones and eVTOL aircraft with digital unmanned air traffic management systems (UTM and U-Space).
To articulate this collaboration, both companies rely on Telefónica Tech’s TheThinX laboratory and EHang’s Urban Air Mobility Center in Europe, located in Spain.
Victoria Jing Xiang, EHang’s COO for Europe and Latam, said: “We are delighted to join forces with Telefónica Tech to jointly deploy Urban Air Mobility and the low altitude economy in Europe and Latin America. Telefónica Tech’s capabilities and expertise in connectivity and the internet of things will enable EHang to deploy its solutions efficiently and securely, allowing millions of people to benefit from its applications in their daily lives”.
“The partnership with EHang means being part of a pioneering project for the air mobility of the future. The fact that EHang relies on our connectivity to develop the sector in Europe and Latin America confirms the strong positioning of our service in both markets, and means combining capabilities to enable connected, safe, efficient and green air mobility for all,” said Alfredo Serret, global head of IoT at Telefónica Tech.
