As demand for transportation continues to increase to levels of chaos and gridlock, alternatives to ground-based transportation are starting to emerge for urban and inter-urban travel and commuting. So-called ‘flying taxi’ projects are fully underway in companies including Airbus, and Boeing (Aurora) and Bell are fully engaged with multiple projects, while the two of the front-runners at present - E-Hang and Volocopter - have already presented static versions of their autonomous air transport vehicles at The Future of Transportation World Conference. In both the latter cases, these air transit ‘taxis’ are beyond the concept stage and already in the trial and test stages of development.
We will be talking with all of these companies and getting their speakers to discuss how their programs have developed during 2020. We’ll be looking at obstacles they may have encountered and where the pathway is for the deployment of (mass) low-speed (autonomous) air travel in and between cities.
Anita Sengupta
chief product officer/co-founder
Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX)
USA
Synopsis: Dr Sengupta will present how space-age tech coupled with the VC-funded innovation environment is enabling a revolution in sustainable aviation. She will review how autonomous VTOL air taxis are an enabling technology for urban transport in the smart cities of the future. She will also discuss the design and testing of the Mobi-One, an electric tilt-wing VTOL aircraft being developed at her new company, Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX). From the utilization of airspace, to infrastructure, to air traffic control, she will present on the urban air mobility revolution coming to a city near you.
Kaydon Stanzione
CEO
Jaunt Air Mobility LLC
USA
Synopsis: Jaunt’s vision extends beyond just building an aircraft for air taxi transportation. Urban air mobility is envisioned to spawn completely new aerospace and aviation industries. The future of UAM technology and the resulting unique transportation service it provides is already having an impact in terms of how many businesses are reshaping their future plans to accommodate how people will change the way they work, play, and shop, and even where they live and school their children.
Balazs Kerulo
chief engineer
LIFT Aircraft
USA
Synopsis: LIFT Aircraft's vision is to bring the thrill and joy of personal flight to everyone, in a way that improves flight safety statistics by one order of magnitude compared with legacy general aviation aircraft and procedures. Given that we aim to achieve this by paradigm-changing aircraft technologies flown by potentially inexperienced people holding no pilot's license, the question of 'how' is the first that pops up. We believe it is entirely possible, but it will take a holistic approach that addresses technical, procedural and social aspects. In our speech, we will introduce the most crucial milestones toward proving the concept; the ones achieved as well as the ones still ahead.
Peter Molnar
CEO
Maform
HUNGARY
Synopsis: Due to the limitations of current battery technologies and the lack of infrastructure, eVTOLs can hardly be the transportation solution for the near future. This paper shows how good design practice can support bridging the gap between the current limitations and the future where eVTOLs are profitable to operate as a means of transportation. Through the example of Lift's Hexa aircraft design development, the paper describes the challenges and solutions of selling flight experience using current technological and infrastructural limitations. It contains case studies about developing user experience, graphical user interfaces and industrial design of an eVTOL aircraft designed for earliest market entry.
Bruno Mombrinie
CEO
Metro Hop
USA
Julian Carlson
director
Pascall+Watson
UK
Synopsis: Commercial vertiports will be unique facilities requiring a different approach to operating than that of current airports. The high passenger turnover and variable capacity of eVTOL require specialized facilities and modes of operation not observed in the commercial aviation community. This paper will explore some of the challenges that future vertiport operators will need to address to ensure successful commercial operation.
Gregor Grandl
senior partner
Porsche Consulting GmbH
GERMANY
Synopsis: In this presentation, using data from the first published market figures, we will discuss several key points surrounding the eVTOL mobility system. This will include sizing the market until 2035, predicting when vertical mobility will be a reality, as well as how fast the market will evolve and possible scenarios. The presentation will also discuss who has a right to win and who will lose.
Alexander Dyskin
principal
Roland Berger
GERMANY
Synopsis: In recent years, new technologies and business models have emerged that will change the image of urban mobility as we know it. Applied properly, these new technologies offer enormous opportunities to make the quantum leap toward financial sustainability for public transport. In our current study, we have identified and quantified which new technologies or business models public transport companies can best use. Based on three different archetypes of urban transport systems in Germany, we have identified seven strategies to make public transport more profitable in the future: fleet automation, electric buses, robo-shuttles, real-time data, ride-pooling, capacity management, and Mobility as a Service. There are major differences in the way each strategy helps to improve profitability. To realize this potential, operators, suppliers and regulators need to rethink their approach to defining and implementing a comprehensive technology map.
Stephan Schickram
senior consultant
Roland Berger
GERMANY
Synopsis: One hundred thousand passenger drones could be in service by 2050. Driven by increasing urbanization and road congestion, and advances in technology such as electrical propulsion, we are living through the rise of the UAM industry, with opportunities but also challenges for established and new players. Key challenges include securing funding until the commercial market for UAM gets to a relevant size, identifying the correct aircraft design for relevant use cases, and developing ground infrastructure to support UAM, among many others. The industry is set to revolutionize urban transport – but how will the industry evolve while ensuring safe, affordable and efficient transport?
Simon Whalley
regulatory and policy manager
Skyports Limited
UK
Synopsis: Vertiport infrastructure will play a key role in the realization of UAM services. Skyports is the first organization to focus on delivering vertiports, securing passenger and cargo vertiports in congested cities worldwide. In October, Skyports – with Volocopter – will be showcasing the world’s first full-scale vertiport with flights in Singapore. Governments, city authorities, transport agencies and aviation authorities can engage with Skyports to be early adopters of this technology, and maximize the socio-economic and environmental benefits of UAM. This presentation provides an indicative roadmap for public authorities and industry partners, to enable the expansion of vertiports and UAM services.
Darrell Swanson
director
Swanson Aviation Consultancy
UK
Synopsis: Commercial vertiports will be unique facilities requiring a different approach to operating than that of current airports. The high passenger turnover and variable capacity of eVTOL require specialized facilities and modes of operation not observed in the commercial aviation community. This paper will explore some of the challenges that future vertiport operators will need to address to ensure successful commercial operation.
Marc Kegelaers
CEO
Unifly NV
BELGIUM
Synopsis: Based on his experience as a provider of UTM technology and his work within ICAO’s UAS Advisory Group, Marc will give an overview of the lessons learned and issues to overcome to make urban aerial mobility happen. UAM is regarded as a way of solving traffic congestion issues in large metropolitan areas. However, there are several stumbling blocks that need to be overcome before this can become a reality. Unifly has been involved in ambitious urban aerial mobility demonstrations, such as the SAFIR project in Belgium and the Volocopter demo in Singapore. We will share this experience.
Josef Kallo
institute director
University of Ulm
GERMANY
Synopsis: Electrochemical energy conversion systems based on batteries and hydrogen fuel cells have made tremendous progress in the last five years as an energy source for electric propulsion in aircraft applications. This presentation will provide an update on our validated work for a passenger aircraft (HY4) propulsion unit, including a fuel cell load data discussion on critical operating conditions.
Mike Hirschberg
executive director
Vertical Flight Society
USA
Synopsis: Over the past five years there has been a groundswell of interest in electric- and hybrid electric-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for personal air vehicles, urban air taxis and even military missions. Electric VTOL obviates the need for mechanical power transmission, allowing new aircraft design freedom through approaches such as distributed electric propulsion. More than 225 electric VTOL designs are being developed today, with many now in advanced stages of flight testing. This presentation will detail the status of the electric VTOL revolution to date, and analyze trends for the future.
Christian Bauer
head of business development
Volocopter GmbH
GERMANY
Synopsis: Air taxis are closer than you think. Current transportation systems in megacities are reaching their limits due to growing populations. The logical response is to offer solutions in the third dimension: autonomous flying air-taxi operations. Receiving the commercial license for air taxi aircraft is a question of time, not possibility. Volocopter is focusing on shaping the necessary ecosystem around UAM, including air traffic management, city regulation and the take-off and landing infrastructure.