U-space capabilities and services to enable Urban Air Mobility

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) refers to the provision of mobility services in an urban environment using air vehicles. These vehicles encompass everything from manned helicopters, as currently flown, through small inspection and delivery drones to ‘flying taxis’, with or without a pilot. As this important and growing domain evolves, it is clear that new operational concepts, regulations and standards will be needed, underpinned by existing and new technologies. The whole environment will need to integrate safely with manned aviation and air traffic control.

In the future, mobility as a service will improve inter-modality connecting many modes of transport into seamless door-to-door services for people and goods. This evolution, amongst others, envisages operations in congested areas and opens the door to alternative responses to the increasing transportation demand in large cities. Urban air mobility (UAM) features flying taxis operating at low and very low level in suburban and urban areas, starting at present with vehicles such as manned helicopters and moving naturally towards more automated operations, alternative propulsion and new vehicle designs.

The demonstration is expected to significantly contribute to the safe integration of UAM into the ATM Airspace.