Telstra's muru-D program investing in the future of human mobility

Media Release, 10 April 2018

Telstra is investing in the development of new aircraft technology that has the potential to revolutionise human transport and help save lives in emergency situations.

AMSL Aero is part of Telstra’s muru-D startup accelerator program, which provides mentoring and investment to early stage technology companies. The company is building a world-leading Verti-plane, which is an aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter but flies fast and efficiently like a plane.

The team visited Canberra today to demonstrate a 1/5 scale prototype of their aircraft and the value it has for different applications beyond just the daily commute, including supporting defence operations and post-disaster recovery operations.

Telstra Chief Technology Officer Hakan Eriksson said that 5G will be essential to support the increase in IoT connected devices over the next decade, bringing greater bandwidth and also greater security and reliability with features designed for communications and control.

“Telstra will be able to offer the capability to support the command and control of autonomous vehicles so that the low altitude airspace, and also the broader aerospace around cities can be more safely managed for airborne technologies including drones and aerial people carriers such as the Verti-plane,” Mr Eriksson said.

“5G will take us not just to a world of ultra-fast mobile speeds but also the Internet of Things on a mass scale. This will bring with it enormous potential for technology enablement – from smart cities and smart homes, to drones and driverless cars, to virtual and augment reality applications.

“We are investing through muru-D in early stage technology companies that are working on solving high impact global problems, in this case the future of human transportation. It’s exciting to see this technology being built in Australia and to think about how Telstra can help enable its success both now and in the future with our network technologies.”

Co-founder Andrew Moore said that AMSL Aero was founded in June 2017 with the mission to change the way the world travels by providing airborne transport that is safe, fast, affordable, easy to use and good for the environment.

“The electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft market is forecast to exceed the value of the current USD $27 billion global helicopter market by 2032 and our technology is leading the way,” Mr Moore said.

“The Verti-plane uses patented technology that tilts the two wings to enable vertical flight for take-off and landing, and horizontal flight for fast (300km/hr) cruising flight. It flies autonomously and is electric, which means it is far safer than helicopters, and is also quiet and emissions free.

AMSL Aero co-founder Andrew Moore started out his career as an aeronautical engineer in the Australian Navy. He has over 20 years of experience in leading the design and build of helicopters and aircraft, and is an avid pilot himself following in the footsteps of his father who was also a naval pilot.

-ENDS-

Media contact: Michelle Zydower

Email: media@team.telstra.com

Media reference number: 049/2018

About muru-D

Telstra’s startup accelerator muru-D offers a six-month program for exceptional founders who are solving high impact, global problems. As part of the program they receive seed capital investment and gain access to a global network of mentors, alumni, investors and partners. Over 100 companies have graduated from one of muru-D’s five programs, and more than 15 of these having raised $1 million or more in funding so far.