Windchill captures, configures and secures interdisciplinary product structures, requirement descriptions and documents and manages mechanical, aerodynamic and electronic CAD models and the associated system software.

Powerful technical functionalities in the areas of PLM, requirements management and the Internet of Things (IoT) and their seamless interaction were decisive factors in Volocopter's decision in favor of the PLM solution from PTC.

• Windchill ensures rapid new development by making cross-company information available at an early stage in the development, production and testing processes.
• The integrated requirements management supports the complete recording of market and authority requirements.
• Powerful functions for the feedback and processing of measurement and sensor data from test and trial setups and prototypes enable a rapid response for effective development.

Volocopter was founded in 2011 in Bruchsal near Karlsruhe and aims to revolutionize urban mobility with autonomous air cabs. To this end, the company claims to have developed the world's first purely electrically powered, autonomous flying multicopter. It is based on drone technology and is large enough to transport two people. The Volocopter is emission-free, very quiet and stable in flight. It is powered by 18 independently controlled drive rotors. The drive, power supply and flight controls are designed with multiple redundancies, making the Volocopter one of the safest flying devices. The company is supported by strategic investors Daimler and Intel, among others.

"We are creating the mobility solution of tomorrow in the third dimension. Urban air cabs are a completely new market and we are breaking new ground every day," said Jan-Hendrik Boelens, CTO of Volocopter. "The modular Windchill PLM system gives us the flexibility we need to grow and stay at the forefront of innovation, while managing all our product data end-to-end through one central platform."

Volocopter plans to intelligently connect its machines and their supporting infrastructure systems. Windchill, coupled with PTC's ThingWorx industrial innovation platform, will provide role-based applications that enable enhanced collaboration and digital twin mapping to predict and test the behavior of flying machines in the physical world. Valuable data collected during operation will flow back into the product development process to ensure true closed-loop lifecycle management. This form of development will help Volocopter to further extend its current competitive advantage.

"New technologies and breakthrough innovations are not possible without a solid product development solution. PLM provides that foundation, making adoption more important than ever for innovative companies like Volocopter," said Kevin Wrenn, Divisional General Manager, PLM Segment at PTC. "This dynamic start-up has taken the first step in successfully transforming mobility as we know it. We look forward to supporting Volocopter as they define and execute their IoT strategy."