Flying car racing series Airspeeder partners with Acronis

Airspeeder, the world’s first flying electric car racing series, has announced a strategic partnership with the global leader in cyber protection, Acronis.

The racing series, created by performance electric flying car manufacturer Alauda, will receive technical and commercial support from Acronis, with some of the services delivered by a global provider of cybersecurity solutions, Teknov8.

A unique series and the first of its kind, Airspeeder has been described as the ‘Formula One of the skies’ and is built on the philosophy that nothing accelerates technical progress like sporting competition. The next-generation sport plays the same role as the pioneers of Formula One did almost a century ago in driving technical development and building public acceptance for a new mobility revolution.

With the series to launch in 2021, Acronis’ cyber protection solutions will ensure the data security for the revolutionary LiDAR and Machine Vision technology that will deliver close but safe racing through the creation of virtual force-fields around each racing craft, named ‘Speeders’, that will peak at speeds of up to 130km/h.

“At Airspeeder we are creating an aerial motorsport driven by innovation. Backing from Acronis, a business with an extraordinary culture of technological success in Formula One and Formula E represents significant affirmation of our vision to accelerate the next great mobility revolution through sporting competition,” said Matt Pearson, Founder, Alauda and Airspeeder.

Airspeeder’s team and pilots will benefit from real-time data, including analysis of battery and key systems performance. From this information, engineers will be able to define strategy in real-time to find a competitive advantage in a sport where every team starts with the same technical platform. This will make for the close and equitable racing motorsports fans crave.

“Acronis’ place at the leading edge of innovation in data management perfectly aligns with Alauda and Airspeeder’s vision to accelerate a mobility revolution through close sporting competition. Our proven, integrated approach to providing easy, efficient, reliable, and secure cyber protection for all data, applications, and systems, will help Airspeeder to enhance their performance on the air track and in the back office. We look forward to delivering on the promise of a true next-generation technical and sporting proposition,” said  Jan-Jaap Jager, the Board Advisor and Senior Vice President at Acronis.

BUILDING A NEW SPORT

Airspeeder is the racing series conceived by performance electric flying car marque, Alauda. Elite pilots drawn from aviation, motorsport and even eSports will navigate electrically governed courses above some of the most visually arresting locations in the world.

Electric racing multicopters created by Alauda will fly at speeds of up to 130km/h. Airspeeder GP seasons will be contested by teams who will purchase the original craft and equipment from Alauda, the Airspeeder series’ exclusive manufacturer but will be given freedom to set race strategy and recruit pilots from a pool of elite pilot academy graduates. This will create a technologically even playing field, encouraging greater control for teams to dictate strategy. This approach has been compared to the highly successful Formula E racing series.

Success for teams competing in the Airspeeder series is defined by the skill of individual pilots and the teams’ ability to maximize performance from a truly revolutionary technical platform. Key to this will be the collection and interpretation of data. This will be underpinned by Acronis and its world-leading solutions which will ensure the secure and seamless management of data. Key indicators from battery peak performance to pilot biometrics will be available to teams as they plot a strategy to gain competitive advantage.

A GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT ENTITY, DEFINED BY DATA

Airspeeder’s will globally stream races and interact with the sport’s fan community across multiple devices and channels, Acronis’ work securely managing global fan, follower and partner data for leading sporting entities perfectly empowers Airspeeder to deliver a next-generation multimedia experience. Central to this is equipping Airspeeder with the inherent flexibility to adapt to rapidly shifting requirements of audiences in the way they interact with brands.

SAFETY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

As a progressive, technologically led sport, Airspeeder is driven by the application of big data. As a world-leading provider of cyber protection solutions, Acronis and Teknov8 will ensure an Airspeeder race or flight will never be compromised and that the terabytes of data shared between Speeders and the technical teams supporting them will remain entirely secure.

Airspeeder will be experienced through global multi-channel streaming. Spectators at live events will be limited to VIPs exclusively invited to experience and amplify the action from luxury pavilions. As they compete, Speeders will utilize cutting-edge LiDAR and Machine Vision technology to ensure close but safe racing, with defined and digitally governed no-fly areas surrounding spectators and officials.