Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, is participating in several university-led aerospace research projects through NASA’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI).
These collaborations allow Aurora to contribute technical expertise, simulation and flight test tools, and industry insight to help academic teams address complex aerospace challenges and align research with practical applications.
Aurora has taken part in six ULI projects, covering topics such as urban air mobility and battery development, with project durations typically spanning three to five years.
Advancing Communication-Aware Autonomy
One current project involves collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder to develop tools and techniques for communication-aware autonomy in collaborative autonomous aviation systems.
Aurora is providing its flight test capabilities and autonomy expertise, including the use of its SKIRON-X sUAS, to demonstrate new methods for communication-aware planning, routing, and design. The project aims to enhance the safety, efficiency, and coordination of autonomous air systems operating in shared airspace.
Battery Modeling & Energy Infrastructure for UAM
Aurora is also supporting a Baylor University-led initiative focused on battery modeling and energy consumption for urban air mobility. The project is exploring effective charging methods, battery chemistries, and infrastructure needed for efficient energy management.
Aurora’s role includes contributing to the development of data-driven and machine learning-based models that can optimize battery use and charging availability across urban vertiports.
Urban Air Mobility Vehicle Design Framework
From 2021 to 2024, Aurora contributed to a ULI project led by the University of California San Diego aimed at advancing urban air mobility vehicle design.
The project resulted in an open-source, python-based framework for multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization (MDAO) called CADDEE. Aurora supported the project by verifying and validating the tools with its own methods and experience in eVTOL vehicle development.
Continued Development Under NASA’s TTT Project
A follow-on effort, now underway under NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies (TTT) project, is further developing the MDAO framework. This includes integrating a modernized aerodynamic flow solver and validating the tools using both standard and novel aircraft concepts to demonstrate their applicability to industry-level design problems.
Aurora’s participation in these projects supports the transition of university-developed technologies to real-world aerospace applications and promotes ongoing collaboration between students, researchers, and industry partners.
