Global regulators and industry professionals discuss UAM industry operations at GUAS 2019. According to Farnborough International, the Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) of 2019 “marks the first time global regulators have come together with industry to determine how urban air mobility will operate.” Discussions encompassed a variety of themes, such as the safety of urban aircraft, both from a perspective...
Global regulators and industry professionals discuss UAM industry operations at GUAS 2019.
According to Farnborough International, the Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) of 2019 “marks the first time global regulators have come together with industry to determine how urban air mobility will operate.” Discussions encompassed a variety of themes, such as the safety of urban aircraft, both from a perspective of regulating repeatable manufacturing processes and one of gaining public acceptance. Of course, autonomy also made its way into the conversation, as it pertains to flight path planning and accountability.
Headlining the opening day of the conference was an insightful discussion with Tim Johnson, Policy Director for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, and Jay Merkle, Executive Director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for the US Federal Aviation Administration. The two were also joined by Mildred Troegeler, Director of Global Aerospace Integration for Boeing NeXt, and François Sillion, Uber’s Director of Advanced Technologies Research. This collaboration of regulators and future operators facilitated a productive session that must become a recurring theme if the industry is to progress toward a commercially viable and mature state.
Uber’s Sillion says that he has gleaned substantial insight on how the UAM industry will operate since the launch of Uber Copter in NYC in July of 2019. The program transports passengers to and from popular destinations around the Manhattan area, such as JFK, for a price comparable to an Uber car during rush hour, and at a fraction of the time. Uber Copter rivals BLADE, who launched a service that includes flights to and from all NYC airports starting in May of 2019. Sillion also appeared at the two-day conference to discuss the company’s search for additional airframer partners as it continues to prepare for commercialization via the Uber Air platform (read more here).
The major takeaways from the discussion married concerns from the perspectives of the regulators and operators, as well as of the general public. It is integral to the success of the aerial mobility industry that all societal impacts are mitigated, of which noise was the most emphasized. CAA’s Head of Aerospace Jon Round explained that it is only once vehicles are in operation that the technology will be accepted, and not before. However, a prerequisite to commercial operation is sufficient design and testing iterations in order to minimize noise and hone air traffic management technologies.
Why it’s important: The progress of the aerial mobility industry hinges on continuous meetings of this nature, where productive conversation can be had regarding the largest obstacles ahead. Farnborough International was pleased to see the impact of the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit, and plans to continue with the event going forward.
The Global Urban Air Summit hosted aerial mobility technologies, partnerships, and debates. Farnborough International hosted the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit in the UK from September 4th to 5th this year. The conference brought together key players and regulators in the aerial mobility industry with the goal of stimulating productive conversations between key stakeholders. “The event [included] two days of...
The Global Urban Air Summit hosted aerial mobility technologies, partnerships, and debates.
Farnborough International hosted the inaugural Global Urban Air Summit in the UK from September 4th to 5th this year. The conference brought together key players and regulators in the aerial mobility industry with the goal of stimulating productive conversations between key stakeholders. “The event [included] two days of conference sessions, networking, knowledge sharing and demonstrations, with the international community brought together by GUAS set to play a key strategic role in driving the industry forward,” according to the host.
Image Source // FINN
“Already today, the race is on – 150 prototypes have already been announced to the market.” Guillaume Thibault, a partner at Oliver Wyman, took the stage at the event to highlight the rapidly expanding industry and the technologies developed by companies hoping to reach the market soon. However, it’s evident that the the technology is far ahead of the necessary regulation and infrastructure for standing up commercial operations. Therefore, a main focus of the conference was pointed discussions surrounding aerial mobility operations and quantifying the market size to properly capture what is required from the regulatory perspective.
Operators such as Uber Air are eager to enter the market with nearly developed eVTOLs, but depend on collaboration and feedback from agencies such as the FAA and the UK’s CAA. The conference was an opportunity for innovators to demonstrate advances in electrification, autonomy and connectivity – all technologies that will be advantageous to the safe, reliable, and predictable operation of urban aircraft.
The company has already selected six partners, but at this week’s Global Urban Air Summit (GUAS) at Farnborough International, Uber said more could be added. // Uber
In addition, there are many ways the aerial mobility industry can adopt strategies already implemented in more mature industries. These were shared throughout the two days, and included an exciting presentation from Stu Olden, Senior Commercial Manager of Williams Advanced Engineering, who said learning from parallel industries was the high point of the summit. He likened the challenges to those of the Formula One industry – reliable battery management systems, environmental pressures, and rapid technology development were all touched upon.
Why it’s important: GUAS is the first event of its kind in the sector, and concentrated more on practical engagement between the communities of interest. Gatherings of this sort are a step in the right direction for coordinating how urban air mobility will navigate a complex regulatory environment and integrate with other transportation methods.
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