eHang has come a long way (pun withheld) since we first covered the company, and it is showing prospective clients what an electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) autonomous aircraft looks like — the EHang 216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV). eHang just showed off the eVTOL aircraft at the General Arena in Vienna as part of the 4GAMECHANGERS Festival.
Are we witnessing the era of aircraft and automotive convergence nearing? The latest news seems to hint even more at the inevitable prospect of vehicles that can drive and fly ushering us into an era of urban air mobility (UAM) with electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
We recently published an article stating that some scientists and entrepreneurs favor the idea of urban air mobility (UAM) since it could have less environmental impact than our current road-going vehicles. But data and statistics can be applied in many ways, and how we see given phenomena determines how we use them, deal with them, and benefit (or not) from them. This time it’s the University of Michigan and Ford — mild surprise regarding the latter — that contest the idea of cleaner eVTOL aircraft.
Opener is another Urban Air Mobility (UAM) startup focusing on an affordable, safe, and easy-to-operate electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This one is called the BlackFly.
Uber Elevate means business when it comes to electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) urban air mobility (UAM) solutions. Recently, Uber Elevate quoted that eVTOL air miles would cost the same as what Uber charges on the road. And with Airbus UAM’s outlook that the market will be around $50 billion by 2030, the company surely wants to make sure it is part of the equation.
Imagine if airlines could save 30 percent on fuel if they switched to electric mobility? A hybrid-electric aircraft is one way to get there. United Technologies Corp. (UTC) wants us to use such airplanes based on hybrid electric turboprops for future regional. The company is testing and opening the electric urban air mobility (UAM) market as we speak.
Volocopter is testing its autonomous air taxi later this year, the ASX MOBi-One aircraft plans to use VerdeGo Aero’s IDEP systems, Eviation will use Siemens electric motors for the Alice 9-seat electric plane, Honeywell is developing flight-control & detect-and-avoid systems for urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles, Lilium says it will launch “much sooner” than 2025, and In-Flight Data snatches 3 Guinness World Records for BVLOS UAS flights.
How fast should electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) aircraft zoom over our heads? Uber Elevate seems to think 150 mph is a good speed, and better than traditional helicopters.
Airbus just released the results of a preliminary survey, Preliminary Community Perception Study, on the public’s perception of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and it’s mostly favorable.
The future of our urban air mobility means better management and coordination of air traffic. The Airbus Altiscope Blueprint takes a deep dive into how eVTOL aircraft, electric helicopters, electric airplanes, and new personal air mobility platforms will share our airspace.
