UAM: Overview
| Tags | AirOverviewUrban |
|---|---|
| Publication Date |
Aerial mobility in the (sub-)urban environment is a very interesting prospect. This form of mobility is not yet established but there are many companies that heavily research the possibilities of urban aerial mobility (UAM). [1] [2]
Conventional aircrafts are of course neither suitable for bridging the short-distances that aerial inner-city traffic requires nor do they have the necessary flexibility for (sub-)urban transportation. For this reason, companies set their hopes in aircrafts that rely on vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), mostly powered by electric motors and navigated autonomously. [3] [4]
The urban aerial mobility industry currently consists of light-jet small commercial aircrafts that fly short distances on demand and has not even started tapping its full potential yet. [5]
Passenger drones are expected to help reach said potential: Although they are not commercially available yet, the industry and its players can learn a lot from the current military use of drones. As the technology is rapidly advancing, more and more opportunities arise to capture insights for urban use cases. For that reason but not that reason alone the industry is projected to be an economic powerhouse in the future: Morgan Stanley predicts the urban aerial mobility market to be worth approximately $ 1.5 trillion by 2040, including freight transportation and military applications. [6]
See
Sources
[1] Airbus. (2017, June 17). Rethinking Urban Air Mobility. https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2017-06-rethinking-urban-air-mobility.
[2] [3] JOBY. Electric Aerial Ridesharing. https://www.jobyaviation.com/.
[4] Airbus. CityAirbus NextGen: Safe, sustainable and integrated urban air mobility. https://www.airbus.com/innovation/zero-emission/urban-air-mobility/cityairbus.html.
[5] The Economist. (2019, September 14). Flying taxis are taking off to whisk people around cities. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/09/12/flying-taxis-are-taking-off-to-whisk-people-around-cities.
[6] Morgan Stanley (2019, January 23). Are Flying Cars Preparing for Takeoff?. https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/autonomous-aircraft.