INDUSTRY SECTOR DYNAMICS

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) refers to an emerging class of craft and supporting infrastructure that will use highly automated (typically electric powered) aircraft that will operate and transport passengers or cargo at lower altitudes within urban and suburban areas. UAM is composed of an ecosystem that considers the evolution and safety of the aircraft, the framework for operation, access to airspace, infrastructure development, and community engagement. 

This is a market for significant growth. It is challenging to provide exact predictions, but some analysts believe this segment could be responsible for in excess of $30B by 2031, with a CAGR above 30% over the next ten years. 

In a similar way to the ongoing shift to autonomous vehicles, the long term vision for the UAM segment is fully autonomous “EVTOL” (electric vehicle takeoff and landing) craft that can be launched from anywhere. Nearer term, the plan is to provide controlled routes such as the initiative announced for Chicago. 

The big challenges associated with this journey include:

System Certification
Certifying software to DO-178C DAL A level can be a time- and cost-consuming task

Cybersecurity
Since these systems are connected to enable the delivery of new functionality, the systems must have a high level of immunity and resilience to deliberate or accidental malware being introduced

Safety
Systems must be able to tolerate failure of subsystems, returning the craft to the ground without injuring humans