Sarla Aviation has moved a step closer to introducing electric air taxis in Indian cities after selecting Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio of industrial software to accelerate the development of its next-generation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The Bengaluru-based startup is creating an advanced urban air mobility platform with the aim of making aerial transportation as safe, sustainable and accessible as today’s premium ride-hailing services. The firm plans to launch commercial operations of its electric air taxi in Bengaluru by 2028.
To help realize this ambition, Sarla Aviation is leveraging Siemens’ integrated digital thread that connects product design, simulation and lifecycle management in a single digital environment. “Our vision is to make electric air mobility accessible at scale with the highest levels of safety and performance,” said Rakesh Gaonkar, Co-Founder & CTO of Sarla Aviation. This approach allows engineering teams to work more efficiently, run simulations earlier in the development process to reduce design iterations and improve the traceability, verification and validation processes required for aircraft certification through a continuous flow of data across development disciplines. “Siemens’ integrated digital technologies allow us to innovate faster, getting us closer to delivering reliable and sustainable urban air transport.”
Mathew Thomas, Vice President and Managing Director for India, Siemens Digital Industries Software said, “Digital transformation has a key role to play in the future of advanced mobility. “The end-to-end digital thread available through the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio can help companies like Sarla Aviation to reduce development cycles, foster better collaboration between engineering and streamline certification processes for the next generation aircraft,” he said.
Sarla Aviation is using several solutions from the Siemens software portfolio to support each step of the aircraft development. Designcenter™ software handles product engineering from concept to detailed design and advanced simulation and performance validation with Simcenter™ minimize the need for extensive physical tests.
The company is also using Capital™ software to optimize the aircraft’s electrical architecture, a critical element for battery management, power distribution and avionics in eVTOL systems. Teamcenter® is the digital backbone for product data management, collaboration and full traceability across design, simulation and manufacturing. Polarion™ application development software is also used to support the complex certification process, including compliance with DO-178C standards.
Sarla Aviation is looking to accelerate innovation and lay the groundwork for a safe, reliable and scalable urban air mobility ecosystem in India by combining these digital engineering tools into a unified development environment.
