Study: Dubai is an innovative destination, and the “Air Show” is an appropriate platform to shed light on the new sector

"Flying taxis"...Personal transport planes that do not need a runway

"Bluther Industries" presented a model of its aircraft inside the cities "Antelope".

Photography: Ashok Verma

A study prepared by Frost & Sullivan for the Dubai Airshow 2021 expects that the urban air mobility system will witness major transformations in the coming years, at a time when two companies at the exhibition showcased two models of urban air mobility aircraft, one of which is an electric hybrid that takes off and land vertically. , or take off and land on a short runway.

Flying vehicles are defined as a new class of urban private aircraft for urban travel, with the ability to take off and land vertically.

Pattern Analysis

The Frost & Sullivan study said that at a time when estimates of revenue for the air transportation sector vary from $300 billion to $2.7 trillion, it is indisputable that an important new market is emerging.

Frost & Sullivan tracked 150 vehicle models targeting advanced air mobility, while analyzing 75 of these models, noting that the main emerging patterns focus on the main trends and features of each of them.

In line with the results of the study, it appears that there is a preference for two- and four-seater vehicles, and there is a noticeable trend, in the number of vehicles targeting personal travel, rather than the concept of commercial taxis.

Cities Challenges

In terms of range, the results of the study reveal that 40% of vehicles target the interior (including major suburbs) at a range of up to 99 kilometres, while the inter-city area registers a similar share across ranges between 100 and 500 kilometres.

According to the study, cities are currently facing major challenges of congestion, pollution, and sustainability, while looking at solutions aimed at meeting the increasing demand for mobility services, to address these basic problems, and provide more efficient means of communication in terms of cost and resources.

"We're already seeing cities trying to integrate a range of modes of transportation, including e-bikes, self-driving vehicles, hyperloops and air taxis, into a closely interconnected urban mobility ecosystem," the study says.

Dubai model

The company says that cooperation with stakeholders will play a pivotal role in the urban mobility scene, referring to the memorandum of understanding signed between the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai and the Dubai Corporation for Air Navigation Services "Dans", in the field of cooperation in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The company adds that in Dubai, companies such as Germany's Volocopter and China's EHANG have started the world's first test flights for a self-driving flying taxi in the emirate, explaining that Dubai's leading position as an innovative and future destination makes the Dubai Airshow 2021 the appropriate platform for advertising, And shed light on this new sector.

international development

The company continues: “We have observed developments in more than 175 regulatory initiatives worldwide, from the perspective of flying taxis, and there are currently 30 countries involved in partnerships aimed at creating an urban air mobility ecosystem.”

The company’s study pointed to the importance of realizing that all infrastructure needs are intertwined, starting with civil infrastructure, including shipping, refueling, and maintenance, as well as digital infrastructures, i.e. network and communication, and environmental ones such as: environmental and acoustic sensors, and security infrastructure i.e. cyber and physical.

"Bluther Industries"

In addition, international companies showcased their latest innovations in the urban air transport sector during the Dubai Airshow, including the emerging company "Bluther Industries", which presented a prototype of its aircraft within cities, "Antelope".

The company confirmed that it has already completed several test flights of its prototypes since 2020, and will reveal a new generation of these aircraft next year, as it plans to put the first commercial model on the market by 2028.

electric plane

The Swiss company "Manta Aircraft" demonstrated a model of a hybrid electric plane that takes off and landed vertically, or takes off and landed on a short runway.

According to the company, its new plane combines the advantages of helicopters and traditional ones, and also meets the need to travel with small planes for personal transportation for short distances, because it is able to take off and land in areas where there are no long take-off and landing runways, as it is sufficient for it to achieve this within a distance of no more than a total of The length of three helipads, enabling it to take off vertically, and then fly horizontally like conventional aircraft.

And because this model of aircraft is able to land and take off vertically, the user can, when flying short distances, charge the aircraft's batteries from electric car charging stations on the road.

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