40. Community Need Woolpert has also submitted a PDAC questionnaire for advanced air mobility and it should be noted that these two efforts are complimentary and not duplicative in their respective work scopes. It should also be noted that the Ohio University Digital Enterprise Collaboratory (DEC) was formerly known as the Digital Design Studio (DDS) and received previous funding under that name.

According to JobsOhio data, the AAMV industry is expected to be a $13 billion enterprise in Ohio by 2045 and require over 80 vertiports. This effort has the utmost importance to both the Department of Defense (DoD), the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) at the Springfield Airport, and commercial companies like Joby and Beta. There is a critical need for this capability to be developed and implemented in the Air Force, as well as the entire DoD. The work also has significant benefits to the commercial companies in the Dayton region who are working in the AAMV supply chain. The DEC will provide the needed platforms for applying this technology to Air Force needs and workforce training through existing agreements with Dassault Systems, Siemens, Ansys and others. This initiative directly aligns with the DOD’s Digital Engineering Strategy, the AF Digital Transformation Office, and contributes substantially to Dayton DigitalWERX.

Funding will focus on executing projects supporting Air Force, NAAMCE, and Joby in advanced air mobility requirements as well as work force development needs. Work on vertiport digital logistics by Ohio University’s Avionics Engineering Center will be important to the AAMV transportation system. The Air Force will require a digital twin modelling capability to define any modification to Joby aircraft and resultant performance characteristics with the goal of optimizing for specific Air Force missions. Joby plans to hire 2000 employees in the Dayton region to support manufacture of 500 aircraft per year. Their state-of-the-art factory will employ Factory of the Future 4.0 digital engineering methods requiring a suitably trained workforce in digital engineering. The capability to develop workforce training and educational tools for Air Force employees, industry employees and students alike, and provide the foundation for rapid growth in the advanced air mobility ecosystem will be realized through this initiative.

Many AAMV companies want rapid prototypes so they can more quickly develop and begin building low-rate production units. They also want to use this same low-rate production design for high-rate production. The challenge is that different manufacturing methods may be needed in either stage. The Air Force and the FAA closely regulate the materials and associated design allowables, which may be different for prototypes than they are for high-rate production. One of the ways to meet these challenges is through the use of digital engineering and digital twin tools. Using these tools, it will be possible to ensure that the design, materials and manufacturing methods work together to create the desired product before it is ever actually made. Making design changes digitally, before anything is finalized, will be more efficient and save costs. The importance of this work cannot be overstated for Dayton regional companies working in advance air mobility as well as the Air Force’s Agility Prime activities. The development of these tools will also be a magnet for attracting new companies working in advanced air mobility to the Dayton region.