Michigan’s Air Mobility Research Corridor to Advance Electric Air Travel and Beyond-line-of-sight Drones

A flight corridor for testing drones and electric aircraft will link the University of Michigan’s one-of-a-kind autonomy research and proving ground facilities in Ann Arbor to Michigan Central’s real-world, urban testbed and innovation district in Detroit.

Announced July 17 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the roughly 40-mile research skyway will be the centerpiece of M-Air, a new public-private partnership U-M is launching for advanced air mobility. M-Air is to be part of the existing public-private partnership Mcity, which provides a connected and automated vehicle test facility under the U-M Transportation Research Institute.

The state of Michigan is providing $1 million in anchor support for M-Air as part of a broader advanced air mobility initiative.

“The next frontier of mobility is moving from land to sky, where drones and electric aerial vehicles can transform how we move people and goods. Michigan Engineering’s M-Air partnership will play an important role in propelling the state to national leadership in advanced aviation technology and developing the workforce we need to sustain it,” said Karen Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering and a professor of mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering.

Read more: University of Michigan

Image: Two drones fly above two ground robots at Mcity, U-M’s autonomous vehicle testbed that is expanding to include electric and uncrewed aerial vehicles. One of the aims of the new M-Air is to develop beyond-line-of-sight drone flight, which could help keep humans out of harm’s way when teams of air and ground robots collaborate in search and rescue missions. The new public-private partnership includes “iron bird” ground testing facilities and a 40-mile air corridor that runs to Detroit. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering