European Union, where major
cities of Germany and Belgium,
have joined the UAM Initiative
of the European Innovation
Partnership on Smart Cities and
Communities (EIP-SCC) which
aims to provide a safe and
applicable framework for the
incorporation of air mobility to
large cities in the European Union.
The initiative has already run
tests in various cities, including
Hamburg and Ingolstadt.
Technological
Requirements and
Barriers
Projects that have undertaken
the task of development of
safe urban air vehicles include
the City Airbus, the Lilium Jet
or the Volocopter, the EHang
216, and the Boeing PAV that
are developing personal aerial
vehicles with vertical take-off and
landing (VTOL) capabilities.
The need for Vertical Take-off
and landing capability in a
personal urban aerial vehicle
is necessary for the largescale
implementation of the
technology as cities offer
restricted and limited space
for mobility on the ground, and
custom runways can not be
successfully implemented at any
location.
The technological barriers that
exist include balancing fuel
consumption or battery capacity
with the vehicle’s load-carrying
capacity. In terms of safety and
security, battery or electrically
operated personal aerial vehicles
are more acceptable as the risk
of accidents and combustion
is decreased. Successful
preliminary tests were short-lived
in terms of duration of the flight
as the amount of energy it takes
to power an aircraft for longer
durations can severely affect the
weight of the craft and thus its
load-carrying capacity.
Final Word
The lack of proper infrastructure
and the setbacks in terms of
technological capabilities are
only short-term issues that can
be matured in the coming years
at a rapid pace. By following all
prediction models, the market for
urban air mobility and personal
aerial transportation is set to rise
significantly in the coming years
as the load on traditional roadbased
infrastructure increases
and becomes unmanageable.
With the advances in technology
that are arising as we speak, the
dream of urban air mobility is no
longer a matter of science fiction
or fantasy, but only a matter of
time.
Polo De’Marco July 2020