The pilots range from drone organ delivery in Ann Arbor to a drone as first responder program in Battle Creek, with most of the projects based in Detroit.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) has selected 12 advanced air mobility projects for $1.7 million in funding. The projects will deploy across the state and demonstrate real-world use cases with the potential to scale. They range from organ and medical drone deliveries to power line inspections, traffic management and navigation in GPS-denied environments.
“Michigan is a leader in mobility innovation, focused on the next phase of technologies that improve how people, goods and essential services move,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “These 12 projects will put advanced air mobility technologies to work in communities across our state, creating opportunities for Michigan businesses, strengthening our innovation ecosystem and helping prepare our workforce for the jobs of the future.”
The awards advance Executive Directive 2025-4, which established the Michigan Advanced Air Mobility Initiative in July 2025 as a whole-of-government strategy. The round follows the state’s award of $2 million for five advanced air mobility projects in August. OFME selected the projects through a competitive process under the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform, which NextEnergy administers and manages.
Michigan advanced air mobility projects selected
Airspace Link, $80,000 (Detroit): a UAS Traffic Management service for Detroit’s increasingly active low-altitude airspace.
Birdstop, $110,000 (Detroit): 24/7 drone monitoring of truck parking availability from self-charging perches, with real-time open-space counts for drivers and freight operators.
Blueflite, $70,000 (Detroit): a test of Tubular Network’s automated vertical tube system, which moves packages from rooftop drone drop-off points to their floors within the Detroit Smart Parking Lab.
Blueflite, $245,000 (Ann Arbor): a drone organ delivery pilot with M-Air.
CENSYS Technologies, $170,000 (Traverse City): drone power line inspections for utility infrastructure monitoring.
ESSPI, $110,000 (Detroit): a real-time oversight system for medical drone deliveries in Detroit’s Transportation Innovation Zone.
Future Flight Global, $104,000 (Detroit): urban wind intelligence integrated with Detroit’s Digital Twin for mission planning and risk management, with TruWeather Solutions and Bedrock Detroit.
General Orbit, $150,000 (Detroit): magnetic navigation for drones in GPS-degraded and GPS-denied environments.
Lamarr AI, $230,000 (Detroit): AI-powered thermal drone inspections across 2 million gross square feet of downtown Detroit buildings, covering façade safety and energy performance.
ResilienX, $200,000 (Battle Creek): the ORION-X drone services platform, starting with a drone as first responder program for the Battle Creek Police Department.
Westwood AI, $100,000 (Calumet): AI-assisted drone data capture for land and infrastructure inspections.
Wolverine Radar, $136,000 (Detroit): a satellite-derived hazard warning system for drone route planning.
Public-private partnership model
“Michigan’s ability to connect an ecosystem of public and private partners to collaborate on deployments demonstrates our commitment to shared progress,” said Justine Johnson, chief mobility officer of Michigan. “This collaboration pushes us to continuously challenge what it means to transform the future of mobility globally.”
“The breadth of funded activities demonstrates the real-world value being delivered by the strong public private partnerships that have been built through platforms like Michigan Central’s Advanced Aerial Innovation Region,” said Matt Whitaker, director of the mobility innovation platform at Michigan Central. “These companies aren’t just running one-off pilots, they are proving that when provided with the proper support and infrastructure, they are able to develop new-to-world capabilities that will bring value to organizations and residents throughout Michigan.”
“Detroit has become one of the country’s leading places to test new mobility technology and with these projects, that leadership now extends into our airspace,” said Konner Petz, head of special projects at the City of Detroit Office of Mobility Innovation. “These pilots show how the state, the city and private partners can accelerate solving challenges with emerging technologies when working toward a shared goal.”
More information is available at the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist focusing on drone technology and lifestyle content at Dronelife. He is based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys hiking and Boston area sports.
