Abstract
Urban air mobility (UAM) has recently increased in popularity as an emerging mode of transportation, covering a wide range of applications, for on-demand or scheduled operations of smaller aircraft, in and around metropolitan areas. Due to its novelty and as it has not yet been implemented, UAM research still faces uncertainties. In particular, there is a need to develop a roadmap for the early implementation of passenger air mobility, aiming to identify the most prominent challenges, opportunities, hazards, and risks, but also to highlight the most promising use cases, or on the contrary, the ones associated with the least benefits compared to the risks or complexity they entail. To answer the previous questions, and therefore address this research gap, this study used a two-round Delphi questionnaire, targeting various stakeholder groups (product owners, policymakers, researchers, consultants, investors), leading to a total of 51 experts, out of which 34 also participated in the second round. In the first round, the main challenges, opportunities, and hazards facing the implementation of passenger UAM were identified. Findings on challenges and opportunities that were dependent on use cases only (as opposed to being dependent on technology or external factors) were then fed back into the second round, which helped evaluate the use cases based both on their complexities, as well as the associated benefits. Accordingly, medical/emergency was identified as the best use case and intracity transport as the worst (in terms of complexity vs. benefits). Similarly, a risk analysis evaluated the potential hazards associated with the implementation of UAM and their impacts on the system viability. Community backlash was found to be the most hazardous one, while malicious passenger behavior and improperly designed infrastructure as the least. Findings from this study can help better understand stakeholders’ opinions, highlighting promising use cases, but also risks to be aware of, constituting therefore a roadmap for future implementation.
Highlights
Recent technological advances have facilitated the emergence of urban air mobility (UAM), the concept of using vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for transporting passengers within an urban area [1]
UAM expanded from only urban operations, to the broader term of “advanced aerial mobility” (AAM), adopted by NASA as well, which includes rural and exurban areas, as well as the more challenging urban areas, making UAM essentially a subset of AAM [4]
The first round of surveys helped identify various challenges raised by the experts, which could hinder the early implementation of PAX-UAM, and these are presented in
Summary
Recent technological advances have facilitated the emergence of urban air mobility (UAM), the concept of using vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for transporting passengers within an urban area [1]. NASA defines UAM as “a safe and efficient system for air passenger and cargo transportation within an urban area, inclusive of small package delivery and other urban Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) services, that supports a mix of onboard/ground-piloted and increasingly autonomous operations” [2]. According to this definition, the operation of air taxis would be limited to metropolitan regions and urban areas. Commercial pilot operations of small aircraft have emerged in areas that are not accessible by road transport or traditional airplanes This is for instance the case of the startup Zipline, which offers the delivery services of medical. UAM expanded from only urban operations, to the broader term of “advanced aerial mobility” (AAM), adopted by NASA as well, which includes rural and exurban areas, as well as the more challenging urban areas, making UAM essentially a subset of AAM [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
