An Austin-based company called SkyGrid is partnering with Port San Antonio to build the region’s first vertiport for electric vertical takeoff aircraft.
The port already earmarked nearly $42 million from state and FAA grants to upgrade an existing airfield and lay the groundwork for autonomous flight.
SkyGrid, developed by Austin’s SparkCognition and Boeing in 2018, is a subsidiary of Wisk Aero. Both companies are owned by Boeing. Wisk’s focus is on the development of “advanced air mobility” aircraft, while SkyGrid is focused on infrastructure.
The company will supply the software that maps the local airspace, pulling data from radar and transponders to keep drones and future autonomous aircraft safe.
SkyGrid specializes in airspace integration technology, helping pilotless aircraft safely share the skies. It will help Wisk bring its autonomous electric air taxis to market.
“SkyGrid is really one of the world’s leaders in … truly understanding what we know and what we don’t know about the signals and the weather in the airspace, developing the technologies and integrating the high-powered computing and the artificial intelligence and everything else to break that down,” Jim Perschbach, the port’s CEO, told KVUE’s media partners at the Austin-American Statesman.
According to the Statesman, the vertiport will be connected with Kelly Field. SkyGrid and the port say the complex environment of the airfield, which includes civil, commercial and military aircraft, will provide a unique testing ground.
Officials say the facility could see test flights within the next 10 years, putting Central Texas at the forefront of advanced air mobility.