Issue 37 Unmanned Systems Technology April/May 2021 Einride next-gen Pod l Battery technology l Dive Technologies AUV-Kit l UGVs insight l Vanguard EFI/ETC vee twins l Icarus Swarms l Transponders l Sonobot 5 l IDEX 2021 report

18 A life dedicated to scientific research was in many ways something that Dr Arnaud Coville inherited, having been born in 1966 to a mother who taught biology and a father who was an engineer. Indeed, he would come to follow in his father’s footsteps, building up a track record of working on cutting-edge engineering projects in France and Germany in the aerospace, electromechanics and robotics sectors. These have now led him to the position of chief technical officer at Volocopter, a company at the forefront of urban aerial mobility. While most companies in this sector are relatively small start-ups, Volocopter has hundreds of employees spread across its offices in Germany and Singapore. Many of those are led directly by Dr Coville, who oversees the company’s engineering activities for air taxis and UAVs, and supports its objectives in building the necessary infrastructure and partnerships for enabling urban air mobility worldwide. Schooling He was born in Paris and raised in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He attended the state- run Lycee Pasteur secondary school, whose alumni include philosopher Jean- Paul Sartre and former French president Francois Hollande. “I have been drawn to maths and physics since primary school,” he says. “In my later years I also learned to appreciate history and philosophy, where developing an analytical mind and a good memory proved very useful.” Volocopter’s CTO takes Rory Jackson along the path that has led to him heading the development of its urban air taxi and other vehicles City planner April/May 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology