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Uber Elevate has officially announced Melbourne, Australia as its international pilot city for Uber Air. This marks Uber’s first international pilot city, and its third city overall.

In 2018, Uber Elevate announced that it would launch its pilot program in a third, international city as well as in Dallas and Los Angeles in the U.S. At the time, it gave five possible cities for the international location: Australia, India, France, or Japan. Of these, it has now chosen Australia.

According to Susan Anderson, general Manager for Uber Australia and New Zealand,  Australia was chosen for its forward looking governance, its environment of support for innovation, and the magnitude of the positive impact Uber Air could have on Australian’s daily lives.

Uber also chose Australia because of its success there with ride-sharing. According to Anderson, 3.8 million Australians use Uber every month, with 67,000 driver partners. Not only does this demonstrate demand for mobility in Australia, it also means Uber has a massive amount of data about Australian commutes, allowing the company to choose SkyPort locations with pin-point accuracy.

Hotspots of travel demand could equal future SkyPort locations:

Importantly, Anderson also mentioned that Australia is expecting an 80% growth in population over the next 30 years, all of which is predicted to occur in Australia’s five capital cities. This statistics make it one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Said Hon Robin Scott, Assistant Treasurer for Victoria:
“We are delighted that Melbourne has been chosen as the first international trial city for Uber Air. Victoria is a dynamic, innovative tech state and an economy leading the Asia Pacific region in transformative technologies.”

Why it’s important: Through its selection of Australia, Uber Elevate has shown its commitment to making an Uber Air an international service. Working with Australia will give Uber experience with foreign governments, allowing to eventually expand to places like India, Japan, and Brazil, and France, as it originally intended.

Uber Elevate unveiled this week 16 new SkyPort concepts from 8 different architecture firms. These were designed for Dallas, Los Angeles, and Melbourne.

SkyPorts for Uber Elevate are not just landing pads for eVTOLs, but are designed to enable seamless transportation in major cities. As such, each SkyPort is connected with public transit, has parking and charging for Uber Jump bikes & scooters, and has areas for easily connecting with Uber cars (one day to be autonomous).

Each of the designs bring forward a different design philosophy. While some are built for easy of assembly and parking structure retro fits, others are designed as community centers. Here are some of the top designs unveiled last the conference:

Community Centers:

Mithun “SkyPark” (Los Angeles)

The Mithun SkyPark is designed to transform the surrounding community into a hub for connectivity. It uses nature itself, through a garden on the ground floor, to absorb noise and reduce pollution. Its ground floor has an open air concept, with room for retail and small cafe’s and restaurants. JUMP bikes and scooters can be easily retrieved from revolving carousel. See the full Mithun SkyPark video here.

Pickard Chilton and Arup “Sky Loft” (Melbourne)

The Sky Loft by Arup and Pickard Chilton is designed to provide for all transportation infrastructure needs, even including a lounge for driver partners. Although it’s a parking structure retrofit and not an entire building, it acts as a hub for all things Uber including an Uber Greenlight Hub (for Uber operations and customer service), an operations facility for JUMP bikes and scooters, and retail. Even more notably, the Sky Loft utilizes natural wood to offset multiple tons of carbon emissions, and add to the buildings aesthetic. See the full Arup and Pickard Chilton Sky Loft video here.

Boka Powell “Urban Re-Vision” (Dallas)

The Boka Powell “Urban Revision” is designed as a larger center, with options for a large amount of retail and restaurants. Boka Powell envisions that residents will able to do their shopping, enjoy a high quality meal or coffee, and more all in the same center they use to travel. To this effect, the Uber Air hub runs through the middle of the large building as rectangle which can be accessed from almost any area. The Urban Re-Vision also places a heavy emphasis on a seamless travel experience, with plenty of room for all travel modalities from cars to bikes and scooters. See the full Boka Powell Volary video here.

Over-Highway Designs

Corgan CONNECT | EVOLVED

“A scalable design that seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure and considers its environmental impact, our design is comprised of a kit of parts that can be customized for a variety of budgets and locations.” –John Trupiano, Principal at Corgan.

Corgan’s approach to SkyPort design is practicality and feasibility. The CONNECT | EVOLVED comes as system of modular components that can be interchanged between locations. Notably, this design is the second version of the Mega SkyPort it designed for Uber Elevate last year. The new CONNECT | EVOLVED features separate levels for pedestrians and vehicles, solar skin, flooring that harnesses kinetic energy, and heliostats that harvest and redirect sunlight under highways. Watch the full CONNECT | EVOLVED video here.

Humphrey & Partners’ “Volary” (Dallas)

“Our approach is based on the idea that ‘less is more’. This idea has motivated us to create a structure that is simple to build and operate while reinforcing Uber’s brand identity.” – Walter Hughes, Chief Innovation Office at Humphrey & Partners.

The Humphrey & Partners Volary pays homage to the pursuit of flight with a structure that is designed to look as if it is suspended in the air. The vertical atrium is constructed of tinted, sound-absorbing Smart Glass, providing a modern look focused on sustainable energy and functional ease. Volary hosts facilities for supporting eVTOL and JUMP operations as well as bikes, scooter and electric vehicle charging and more than 9,500 square feet of retail space. See the full Humphrey & PartnersVolary video here.

Parking Structure Retrofits

The Beck Group “Dallas SkyPort” (Dallas)

“The design and fabrication of modular elements in our Dallas SkyPort deliver a concept that aligns with Uber’s innovative vision and is within budget,” – Timothy Shippey, Associate Principal at The Beck Group.

Beck’s retrofit concept focuses on combining an existing seven story parking structure with pre-fabricated components, like the undulating cloud canopy, unique elevator enclosure, and sky lounge. The Dallas Skyport facilitates eVTOL take off and landing  as well as space for bikes, scooters and electric vehicles. The Skyport features a 6,000 square foot lobby as well as a 2,000 square foot sky lounge at the top for travelers to wait for their departing aircraft. See the full Beck Dallas Skyport video here.

Mithun SkyPark Retrofit (Los Angeles)

This is the ‘Santa Monica Retrofit’ that complements Mithun’s “SkyPark” hub near downtown. A flight from the downtown hub to the Santa Monica retro fit will take about 7 minutes. The Santa Monica retrofit has an L-shaped open-air concept on the ground, and features a simple elevator system to reach the Sky Deck. On the Sky Deck, vehicles are set on a turnable parking which allows for management of deck space and a seamless customer experience. Watch the full Mithun Skyports video here.

Shop Architects “Arc” (Los Angeles)

“To celebrate Uber’s vision of our shared transportation future, we shaped the architecture around the experience of boarding and takeoff, that bold first step into the future of urban flight. ” – Shannon Han, Project Director at SHoP Architects.

SHoP’s Arc concept looks to reclaim the past eras of flight. The roof’s form and feel is built to capture the capture the wonder of air travel while also doubling as a platform for integrated photovoltaics, generating energy to offset the power demands of the facility. The Arc is a greenfield design that facilitates 72 eVTOL round trips per hour with space for electric bikes and scooters, as well as electric vehicle charging and supporting operations. See the full SHop Arc video here.

Significant Partnerships

Uber Elevate announced that Related Companies will be its preferred real estate development partner supporting its Uber Air network in the United States. As part of this partnership, Uber and Related have collaborated on a vision for a future skyport at Related’s 240-acre Santa Clara development to illustrate the benefits aerial ridesharing could provide for the Bay Area and other cities in the future. Related is one of the country’s largest real estate developers, known for its city defining, mixed-use developments and innovative residential and commercial offerings in many of Uber’s biggest cities.

Signature Flight Support and Uber Elevate have announced a nationwide partnership in which Signature Flight Support will facilitate ground based operations and Skyport infrastructure for Uber Air.  Signature Flight Support is Uber Elevate’s first nationwide operations and on-airport infrastructure partner. Signature will also be the ground-based operator of choice for Uber Copter services, which offers the first real demonstration of the Elevate experience in New York.

Signature is the world leader in ground based private aviation services known as Fixed Based Operations (FBO’s), with over 200 locations across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Signature has been committed to aviation safety and perfecting the customer experience for over 25 years.

“Signature Flight Support’s operational prowess and industry leading understanding of the private aviation space makes them an ideal fit for Uber Elevate’s business. Efficient and safe Skyports are a critical component of our business model, and our future collaboration with Signature will allow for a seamless rider experience from the moment they arrive at a Skyport, to the moment they depart.”            –Eric Allison, Head of Uber Elevate

Together, Uber and AT&T have created a multi-phase plan to develop connectivity for Uber Air cargo and passenger flights.

Uber is already beginning to implement AT&T services in its new Uber Copter program in New York.

For Uber Elevate, connectivity to the internet during flight is not a luxury, but an absolute must. Unlike existing aviation infrastructure, Uber’s platform for operations and communication relies on the internet. Everything from the customer experience to instructions for pilots and on-the-ground drivers is relayed through mobile apps.

AT&T plans on using its extensive 4G LTE network as well its growing 5G expertise to create a connectivity network for Uber Elevate that prioritizes safety and reliability. The company that its contribution will  help Uber revolutionize short-distance air transport.

Said Andre Fuetsch, president, AT&T Labs, and chief technology officer:
“We’re in the very earliest stages of seeing what 5G can do to augment next-generation air travel, but we’re excited for the possibilities…Ridesharing services were one of the defining mobile applications of the 4G era. Air taxis and other new air vehicles could well eventually become a signature use case for 5G.”

Ultimately, 5G networks will enable autonomous flight for urban air aircraft. Delivery drones and passenger vehicles will require automated air traffic management systems (UTM), that will need to consistently send large amounts of data to aircraft in order direct them. Sending this critical information needs to be done with an extremely reliable, very fast network. Already, companies like Oredoo in Dubai are showcasing their ability to manage urban aircraft, and AT&T has already begun demonstrating connectivity above 500 feet.

The eHANG 184, which used Oredoo’s 5G service in to complete a demonstration flight in Qatar

AT&T first launched 5G in 2018. The service is now available in 19 cities, and plans to have nationwide coverage in late 2020.

Why its important: Given that Uber’s pilot, operations, and customer service applications all rely on wireless connectivity, AT&T will need near-flawless standards for coverage. While initial tests with drones have proved promising, the FAA or another government entity may require certain connectivity standards in addition to flight performance standards. Any UAM stakeholders should start now in supporting connectivity efforts.