Introduction
Today an airplane can whisk you across countries
and even continents in a few hours, even to the
farthest points on the globe within a day. Once
off the plane, however, between baggage claim
and arranging traditional ground transportation
to your final destination, often just a few miles
away, travel proceeds at a relative snail's pace.
In this e-book, we explore an exciting new chapter
in air transportation, the Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
vehicle. Such vehicles will operate like airborne
taxis, traveling to pre-defined destinations,
powered by electric batteries.
UAM development will take place in multiple
stages. At first, UAM vehicles will require a human
pilot to control the vehicle, with a traditional
airport as the point of origin. Eventually, a
network of UAM vehicles will branch out, hopping
from point to point inside a city, some with a
human onboard only for emergency intervention.
Finally, these vehicles are likely to become fully
automatic, with no human pilot whatsoever, saving
costs and potentially making room for an extra
passenger.
Here we discuss the technology that's making
this new transportation method possible as well
as the challenges engineers have overcome to
make it a reality. Innovators are lined up to put
these pieces together, marking the start of a new
era in air travel.
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4
Addressing New Challenges in Urban Air Mobility
