By James Luher, Meteorologist, TruWeather Solutions
How do you see the weather? The common way the weather is perceived is through the lens and measurement of impact. Weather is often defined as what we can see and feel, what is tangibly sensed.
Businesses and operators can often fail to recognize the influence and value of ‘small-scale’ weather on everyday decisions. These subtle, less visible weather variations on a localized scale frequently go unnoticed and unacknowledged, yet they have the power to alter and deviate from our daily protocol.
Weather uncertainty on the localized or micro-scale impacts the mobility industry by causing delays, cancellations, and unnecessary costs. The unreliability of weather can eventually cost your business a percentage of future revenue. Specifically, weather uncertainty directly
leading to being delayed or grounded unnecessarily can be quantified as the Weather Tax™. Weather has a cost, and that cost can be quantified.
Businesses that rely on low-altitude operations are particularly vulnerable to the effects of unpredictable weather conditions due to a gap in data below 1000m.
Here are two examples of microweather’s causing an impact on Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations.
Example 1: In the early morning on a clear summer day, an air taxi sets off on its journey. Suddenly, the autonomous vehicle encounters increased winds at flight level that were not accounted for at take-off, causing sudden turbulence and a significant increase in stress on the battery.
Example 2: Early morning fog has begun to lift, and an air cargo transport is set to depart. The departure is delayed since the airport is more susceptible to fog than the surrounding region. Yet, at their location, sky conditions have cleared enough to take off. Their protocol has been to go off the closest METAR. Should they proceed with their flight?
Value from reduced weather uncertainty comes in many forms: through a smooth ride creating a positive customer experience, a seamless flight process without delay, or even reduced stress within the internal operational framework. These items all hold both qualifiable and quantifiable value.
So why has low-altitude weather uncertainty yet to be addressed on an industry-wide scale? Right now, operational testing is typically done in idealistic conditions. In the past, there has not been an urgency to address weather as a meaningful concern, either because AAM/UAM operators and industry partners have yet to perceive its value or they have priorities elsewhere. Weather uncertainty must be fully conceptualized, and the impact on operations must be fully understood.
The AAM/UAM industry currently sits at a crossroads, with its future success reliant on its ability to scale effectively. By integrating accurate weather data into AI and IoT platforms, AAM companies can mitigate risks, maximize operational efficiency, and gain a substantial competitive edge.
Operators must recognize the real value of accurate and precise weather data, especially when other elements of the infrastructure ecosystem also work off the micro-level scale level of precision.
TruWeather Solutions is providing a new angle in the meteorological industry, uncovering a value chain in the low altitudes, and finding ways to use the weather as a competitive advantage. Our innovative approach of sourcing localized data sensors into a customized weather analysis system produces a customer-first approach focused on maximizing operational efficiency and flight time.
Personalized weather intelligence can be directly displayed through TruWeather’s SaaS product, the V360 software platform, or it can be directly integrated into an operational framework through API.
TruWeather will continue to connect cutting-edge research with the burgeoning commercial mobility sector and allow innovation to flourish through partnerships with both government and private agencies.
Namely, though, TruWeather Solutions will continue to educate and empower the mobility industry with the tools and knowledge to take on weather with full confidence. Our product is never finished and will continue to evolve and modernize to fit the needs of the industry.
