The problem
The numerous urban air mobility startups are struggling to create eVTOLs that would be (a) practical and (b) accepted and adopted. The former is primarily limited by battery capacity and range, and the latter – by regulatory barriers. Various solutions have been proposed and tried, but what if they’re looking in the wrong place?
The proposed solution
What if, instead of making better vehicles and more comprehensive traffic control systems, we created an infrastructure that would help eVTOLs stay in the air longer and move in a more predictable manner?
After all, mobility breakthroughs of the past tended to be about the infrastructure: railways, roads, airports.
And building an infrastructure in the sky may not be as difficult as we think. I suggest the following components.
SkyStations
Platforms on top of buildings, poles or dedicated structures where drones and eVTOLs can land to recharge, swap batteries, pick up or deliver cargo or passengers, undergo maintenance, etc.
Electric corridors
Elevated electrical cables on tall poles. Aircraft can latch onto them and travel without depleting battery charge, in a structured predictable manner. They can disengage to fly freely for the last-mile leg of the route, or make hops to other corridors (the system doesn’t need to be continuous, which makes things easier). Existing ground infrastructure, such as railways, can be utilised to help with cost optimisation and noise acceptance.
Congestion will be less of a dealbreaker than it is for fixed-wing aircraft or free-flying eVTOLs. If a corridor experiences a blockage, the aircraft will be able to loiter in the air for some time, move to other corridors, or be diverted to nearby SkyStations.
How this could help
Such system would solve the electric range problem, and make urban air traffic more predictable and controllable – and thus lower the resistance to certification and adoption.
Submitted by: Ilia Leikin
Hashtags: #Aviation #DeliveryDrones #eVTOL
Looking for: companies and government agencies to consider the idea
I can: brainstorm
Status: newly submitted
