Ann Arbor Times

A new flight corridor for testing drones and electric aircraft will connect the University of Michigan's research facilities in Ann Arbor to Michigan Central's urban testbed in Detroit. Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the 40-mile research skyway as part of M-Air, a public-private partnership launched by U-M for advanced air mobility.

The state of Michigan is providing $1 million in support for M-Air, which is part of Mcity, a connected and automated vehicle test facility under the U-M Transportation Research Institute. Karen Thole, Dean of Engineering at U-M, stated that "Michigan Engineering’s M-Air partnership will play an important role in propelling the state to national leadership in advanced aviation technology."

M-Air aims to enable researchers and companies to test technologies focusing on beyond-line-of-sight operation of autonomous aircraft and battery-powered VTOLs. Venkat Viswanathan, director of M-Air, noted the potential for drones to become "the cheapest, fastest way of transporting goods."

The initiative is funded through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with infrastructure support from MDOT. Bryan Budds from MDOT expressed excitement about exploring safe integration of this aviation technology as a mobility option.

M-Air's facilities will allow users to demonstrate flight performance on the ground before air trials. The corridor will include a drone traffic management system meeting national safety standards and support swarm operations testing.

The corridor extends through U-M Dearborn and ends at Michigan Central, which supports start-ups focused on advanced mobility. Ben Marchionna from MEDC described M-Air as "Michigan’s launchpad for the next wave of autonomous flight."

U-M plans to use M-Air to advance its Survival Flight service by integrating drone detection systems and potentially using electric aircraft or drones for medical transport. Donna Robinson from Survival Flight emphasized that M-Air will help ensure safe integration into critical response operations.

M-Air will also engage in educational initiatives like the Perot Jain TechLab series, supporting aerospace startups and student learning. The project is finalizing its founding industry members who will guide research directions and construction efforts.

In addition to funding from MEDC’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, U-M will contribute $1 million. The previous outdoor drone testing space known as M-Air Net near the aerospace engineering department has been renamed.