Study on Urban Air Mobility: Overview of Ecosystem, Market Potential, and Challenges

Abstract

From the 1910s, the concept of flying cars and air travel within cities has mesmerized inventors. The new advancements in electrification, automation, and other related fields have provided new avenues for business models, aircraft engineering, and on-demand airborne mobility systems. The goal of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is to develop safe, eco-friendly, cost effective, and widely available aerial networks for passenger travel, goods transportation, and urgent care services in metropolitan areas. This study applies a mixed-methods research design by conducting 106 interviews with industry professionals and performing two co-creation workshops to assess UAM's past, present, and future. The development of UAM is divided into six phases: (1) absent ‘flying car’ designs (1910s–1950s), (2) regular helicopter services (1950s–1980s), (3) on-demand aerial transport revival (2010s), (4) VTOL corridor integration (2020s), (5) hub-and-spoke expansion, (6) seamless point-to-point systems. There are still significant adoption barriers such as legal restrictions, cultural acceptance, safety concerns, operational noise, social equity, and environmental damages. The lack of infrastructure, complex airspace management, and the lack of revenue certainties inhibit scaling as well. The paper aspires to open up the discussion on the most urgent research areas around UAM such as the socioeconomic effects, the environmental, and UAM's relation to the existing aviation systems.