Vertiport operations and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions provider Kookiejar says it is joining forces with design company STILFOLD to make drone landing platforms using “industrial origami” manufacturing technology.
Kookiejar is on a mission to create a scalable vertiport network that will allow goods (and eventually people) to be transported sustainably and efficiently around cities using drones.
Aiming to have its network in operation by 2024, the Sweden-based company has secured multiple pilot sites in Europe as well as the Middle East. Kookiejar has also established partnerships with several aviation tech and urban mobility players including Airqual Technologies, ADB Safegate, JetPak, Aerit, Oilchain, and Flying Basket to facilitate pilot projects.
The greentech firm’s latest partner STILFOLD is another noteworthy name in the sustainability movement. As the daughter company of STILRIDE, its team has created a lightweight electric motorcycle made almost entirely from recycled steel. The same team is also working with Polestar to build the world’s first climate-neutral car.
But what exactly is this origami-inspired manufacturing technology that Kookiejar and STILFOLD want to use in the production of drone vertiports?
STILFOLD explains that it is a patented technique that involves the use of robotic arms to fold flat sheet metal over curves to form new structures. So, even though it is made up of minimal component parts, the use of computational design and advanced robotics in the fabrication method ensures that final structure is complex, strong, and sustainable.
Max Hoffman, head of strategic projects at Kookiejar, says, “Autonomous drone and VTOL takeoff and landing platforms (aka vertiports) are a vital component in automating and facilitating drone deliveries and air taxi services on a large scale while ensuring safety and functionality. Together with STILFOLD, we can find even more efficient ways to achieve our goals, build our vertiports, whilst streamlining our production processes and reducing our environmental impact.”
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