Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Feature Photo: Sikorsky Matrix Technology inside an S-76B. By Lockheed Martin
For this week, we are looking at Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The UAM system that I chose is the S-76B Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA). This system is built on an existing helicopter system with added Matrix Technology. The Matrix Technology uses systems intelligence that gives the operator the capability to fly the aircraft manned or unmanned (Lockheed Martin, n.d.). The Matrix system has the capacity to execute complex missions in low altitude, obstacle rich environments. The aircraft is capable of being flown using a tablet to set the flight plan, and the aircraft autonomously flies the route and lands on its own. These types of systems are the future of UAM use in the National Airspace System (NAS).
The first human factor that I see for this system is if there is an emergency. Eric Adams documented his experience with the S-76B that utilizes the Matrix technology in an article. He explained that he was capable of sitting in the aircraft with zero flight experience and told the aircraft where to go using a tablet that was hard-wired into the aircraft. The problem that I see is an emergency situation. The aircraft must be capable of dealing with all types of emergencies if the passengers will not actively fly the aircraft.
The infrastructure for this system would require the NextGen system of systems technology. The automation in this platform would require continuous communication from the aircraft to the air traffic controllers to ensure they understand where the aircraft is moving to. This is important since the expectation is this aircraft may operate with passengers and no pilot. The aircraft may take off and land at different locations throughout the day, depending on how the infrastructure is created to support where this system could operate.
A realistic timeline for these systems would be primarily based on the technology to safely operate the aircraft in the event of an emergency. According to Gipson, L (2017), one of the most important certification concerns is the capability of the aircraft to safely fly and land in an emergency situation in crowded areas. I believe this would require redundant systems such as multiple rotors, engines, and tail rotors until these systems can prove that they are safe to operate without them. According to NASA (2018), it is unlikely that air taxis will have met the technological and infrastructure requirements by 2030.
I personally do not believe that air taxis are feasible in the near future (2030). Technology has not demonstrated to have a low enough failure rate to comfort individuals to fly on an aircraft with no pilot. According to a market study by NASA (2018), only 25% of 2,500 individuals surveyed stated that they were comfortable with the idea of an air taxi flying them around. I believe that a lack of public support will not provide enough profit to make this commercially viable until aircraft designers and manufacturers can solve the human factors concern of emergencies without a pilot on board.
References
Adams, E. (2019, April 20,). What is it like to fly a helicopter with a tablet? Retrieved from https://www.verticalmag.com/features/remote-control-the-sikorsky-autonomy-research-aircraft/
Gipson, L. (2017). NASA embraces urban air mobility, calls for market study. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/aero/nasa-embraces-urban-air-mobility
Hawley, C. (2019). Six keys to winning the urban air mobility race. Retrieved from https://aerospace.honeywell.com/content/aero/en/us/home/learn/about-us/blogs/2019/10/six-keys-to-winning-the-urban-air-mobility-race.html
Lockheed Martin. (n.d.). Sikorsky MATRIX™ technology. Retrieved from https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/sikorsky-matrix-technology.html
Lockheed Martin. (n.d.). Urban air mobility. Retrieved from https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/sikorsky-urban-air-mobility.html
NASA. (2018). Urban air mobility (UAM) market study. Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/uam-market-study-executive-summary-v2.pdf