German air traffic management startup Skyroads (formerly D3 Technologies) has published its second white paper on urban air mobility (UAM) traffic management and vehicle guidance systems development challenges.
Written by Ralph Schuppenhauer (Lead Ground Systems Skyroads) and Corvin Huber (CEO Skyroads) the paper proposes a roadmap of how the development of traffic management and vehicle guidance systems can support the implementation of UAM in global metropolitan and urban regions by bringing safety to urban flight already at an early date.
“Open, automated and interoperable flight systems will allow urban air traffic to scale flight numbers and thus dramatically improve revenue models,” said an accompanying press release. Some of the conclusions of the Skyroads Whitepaper are:
- Classic chicken-egg-problem: Various initial frameworks for the development of automated flight in UAM exist, but are not being implemented due to a lack of harmonization and market opportunity.
- Window of opportunity is open: Accelerating technology development offers a window of opportunity now for automated, interoperable flight systems to get UAM off the ground. And allowing the industry to scale thanks to significantly higher flight automation capabilities.
- It is the industry’s turn: The UAM industry will urgently have to find a consensus and agree on rules to allow for interoperable systems. To keep the momentum of UAM, growth with “disciplined agility” needs to be applied.
- OEMs won’t build the roads in the sky: Air vehicle manufacturers are currently shaping the image of the UAM industry, but they are not likely to offer the required open and interoperable airspace management and vehicle guidance solution.
Skyroads CEO Corvin Huber: “UAM is facing a classic chicken-and-egg-problem. While there are various approaches on how to manage automated flight, there is neither consensus on either rules or standards for even semi-automated flying in metropolitan areas nor is there a market yet. This needs to be resolved in close collaboration between regulators, the air vehicle industry and technology providers such as Skyroads who bring the necessary know-how and neutrality to the table.”
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