Urban Air Mobility:
An At-A-Glance Guide

The vehicles themselves are the most important part of the urban air mobility equation, with a wide range of designs currently in development. However, the majority of these use an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) design, and operate autonomously, using a mixture of on-board, edge and cloud computing to calculate routes and maintain efficient and safe flying patterns. As a result, full 5G rollout is essential to the operation of such vehicles, making this a key barrier to their success.

With drones also set to proliferate in the same timespan, the rise of urban air mobility will see our urban skies become considerably more crowded, making technologies to ensure safe overall traffic management absolutely vital. As a result, traffic management systems that enable air traffic to operate within approved, regulated bands of airspace is essential. These are also already being developed, but will require regulation and cooperation from cities to fully deploy.

The vehicles themselves are only part of the process: urban air mobility also requires alighting and charging spaces for the vehicles. These have been given a number of names, including skyports, vertiports and vertipads, but they all have the same needs: providing a space for air taxis to arrive and take off that is safely accessible to the sky above and the city below, while shielding the surrounding area from excess noise. Considerable work is currently being undertaken to develop designs for such structures, with the majority conceived as being located on the roof of new or proposed skyscrapers. However, the designs vary significantly, and there is likely to be considerable further evolution before they become a reality.

While this is the technology with the fewest barriers to becoming a reality, making platforms where users can easily find and book air taxis is nonetheless an essential part of the process. For players already in the mobility space, such as Uber, this will simply require the adaptation of existing platforms. However, for others entering the ride-hailing market for the first time, a well-designed app with a strong user interface will be vital to attracting and retaining customers.

Aviation giant Airbus has built a strong foundation to become a leader in the urban air mobility space, having already developed two prototype eVTOL vehicles as well as developing potential supporting infrastructure, including an app and unmanned traffic management solutions. Airbus has already begun testing of its demonstrator craft, and will likely to begin scaling in the next few years.

One of the most widely known companies in the urban air mobility space, German startup Lilium has already developed two-seater and five-seater eVTOL craft. Both versions have already begun testing, and the company, which includes Chinese technology giant Tencent among its investors, is now set to begin scaling efforts and seek regulatory approval. Lilium has also developed a supporting app, and features an aircraft-like design that makes it quieter than competitors.

Uber has received considerable attention for its moves into the urban air mobility space, through its proposed Uber Air. For the tech giant,, entry into the space provides the opportunity to expand its market-leading ride-hailing platform to the skies. However, it is leaving the eVTOL design and other infrastructure development efforts up to partners, including Bell and Boeing, with six competing prototypes currently undergoing review.

Intel-backed German startup Volocopter is rivalling its competitors in the eVTOL department, with the development of an 18-rotor air taxi that resembles a gigantic drone. This is designed to be flown either autonomously or with a pilot, with the company also developing designs for Volo-Hubs and Volo-Ports to provide supporting infrastructure.