Browse Topic: Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)
Recent advancements in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and the broader advanced air mobility (AAM) movement have generated significant interest within and beyond the traditional aviation industry. Many new applications have been identified and are under development, with considerable potential for market growth and exciting potential. However, talent resources are the most critical parameters to make or break the AAM vision, and significantly more talent is needed than the traditional aviation industry is able to currently generate. One possible solution—leverage rapid advancements of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the gaming industry to help attract, identify, educate, and encourage current and future generations to engage in various aspects of the AAM industry. Beyond Aviation: Embedded Gaming, Artificial Intelligence, Training, and Recruitment for the Advanced Air Mobility Industry discusses how the modern gaming population of 3.3 million
Anduril Industries Orange County, CA Contact@anduril.com
This study aims to explore the multifaceted influencing factors of market acceptance and consumer behavior of low-altitude flight services through online surveys and advanced neuroscientific methods (such as functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI, electroencephalography EEG, functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS) combined with artificial intelligence and video advertisement quantitative analysis. We conducted an in-depth study of the current trends in low-altitude flight vehicle development and customer acceptance of low-altitude services, focusing particularly on the survey methods used for market acceptance. To overcome the influence of strong opinion leaders in volunteer group experiments, we designed specialized surveys targeting broader online and social media groups. Utilizing specialized knowledge in aviation psychology, we designed a distinctive questionnaire and, within just 7 days of its launch, gathered a significant number of valid responses. The data was then
In the realm of low-altitude flight power systems, such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), ensuring the safety and optimal performance of batteries is of utmost importance. Lithium (Li) plating, a phenomenon that affects battery performance and safety, has garnered significant attention in recent years. This study investigates the intricate relationship between Li plating and the growth profile of cell thickness in Li-ion batteries. Previous research often overlooked this critical aspect, but our investigation reveals compelling insights. Notably, even during early stage of capacity fade (~ 5%), Li plating persists, leading to a remarkable final cell thickness growth exceeding 20% at an alarming 80% capacity fade. These findings suggest the potential of utilizing cell thickness growth as a novel criterion for qualifying and selecting cells, in addition to the conventional measure of capacity degradation. Monitoring the growth profile of cell thickness can enhance the
Imagine the year is 2035. Your plane has just landed at LAX, and you need to get to your hotel in the South Bay. Traffic on the 405 is at a standstill, however, so you pull out your phone, open an app and order an air taxi. You walk over to the nearby vertiport, where a multi-rotor aircraft has just finished charging, waiting for you to board. You climb in and the air taxi quietly lifts itself in the air, without a human pilot, and flies you over the Los Angeles cityscape to your destination in just a few minutes. As a result, you get to enjoy an afternoon at the beach, instead of sitting for hours in LA traffic. This is how a future with advanced air mobility (AAM) could look.
Batteries for eVTOL aircraft need to deliver high power for efficient takeoff and landing, as well as high energy for the cruise period. To meet these demands, designers must consider the power-energy tradeoff of batteries and integrate a reliable battery management system into the overall design. Multiphysics simulation can be used to evaluate this tradeoff and consider all design requirements in a way that is comprehensive and saves time. In recent years, more and more organizations have announced their development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) systems and, in some cases, are even showing previews of systems that are intended to hit the market in just a few years. As new design ideas emerge, there is one important question that needs to be asked: To keep up with the developments in eVTOL aircraft, what design requirements need to be considered for the batteries that power them?
Aerospace manufacturers are leveraging multicore processors and modularity to design smarter cockpit displays and avionic computers that are smaller and capable of supporting more applications from a single line replaceable unit (LRU). Some are also starting to embed more of the processing required to enable cockpit display applications within the display itself, rather than having it enabled by an associated LRU. The development of new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and avionics companies changing their approach to the development of safety critical computers and aircraft networking technologies are some of the aerospace industry factors driving this design trend. In the U.S., the Department of Defense (DoD) embracing the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) across the purchase of all new aircraft technologies is influencing design changes in cockpit displays and aircraft computers as well.
Lilium Munich, Germany +49 151-539-19945
Recent advancements of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have generated significant interest within and beyond the traditional aviation industry, and many novel applications have been identified and are in development. One promising application for these innovative systems is in firefighting, with eVTOL aircraft complementing current firefighting capabilities to help save lives and reduce fire-induced damages. With increased global occurrences and scales of wildfires—not to mention the issues firefighters face during urban and rural firefighting operations daily—eVTOL technology could offer timely, on-demand, and potentially cost-effective aerial mobility capabilities to counter these challenges. Early detection and suppression of wildfires could prevent many fires from becoming large-scale disasters. eVTOL aircraft may not have the capacity of larger aerial assets for firefighting, but targeted suppression, potentially in swarm operations, could be valuable. Most
In commercial aerospace, the application areas for motors are wide and varied, each with their own unique requirements. From electric vehicle take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxis to business jets to long-haul commercial transport aircraft, DC motors must endure various environmental conditions like extreme temperatures, shock and vibration, atmospheric pressures and signal interference, to name just a few. These applications may also demand motors that provide a fast response, high power or torque density. In addition to these requirements, the aerospace industry perpetually calls for lightweight materials and smaller installation spaces. Taken together, it can be very difficult to specify and buy a reliable motor for mission-critical equipment. This article will present common commercial aerospace applications that pose performance and environmental challenges for DC motors along with a summary of the stringent aerospace industry standards that the motors must satisfy. It will also
Airbus Toulouse, France +33 6 34 78 14 08
With increasing interest in the urban air traffic market for electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles, there are opportunities to enhance flight performance through new technologies and control methods. One such concept is the propulsion wing, which incorporates a cross-flow fan (CFF) at the wing's trailing edge to drive the vehicle's flight. This article presents a wind tunnel experiment aimed at analyzing the aerodynamic characteristics of the propulsive wing for the novel eVTOL vehicle. The experiment encompasses variations in angels of attack, free stream velocities and fan rotational speeds. The result verifies that cross-flow fans offer unique flow control capabilities, achieving a tested maximum lift coefficient exceeding 7.6. Since flow from the suction surface is ingested into the CFF, the flow separation at large angle of attack (up to 40°) is effectively eliminated. The aerodynamic performance of the propulsive wing depends on the advance ratio and angle of
Direct debugging of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing aircraft’s control system can easily result in risk and personnel damage. It is effectively to employ simulation and numerical methods to validate control performance. In this paper, the attitude stabilization controller for VTOL fixed-wing aircraft is designed, and the controller performance is verified by MATLAB and visual simulation software, which significantly increases designed efficiency and safety of the controller. In detail, we first develop the VTOL fixed-wing aircraft’s six degrees of freedom kinematics and dynamics models using Simulink module, and the cascade PID control technique is applied to the VTOL aircraft’s attitude stabilization control. Then the visual simulation program records the flight data and displays the flight course and condition, which can validate the designed controller performance effectively. It can be concluded that the designed VTOL fixed-wing aircraft control visual simulation
Advanced flight control system, aviation battery and motor technologies are driving the rapid development of eVTOL to offer possibilities for Urban Air Mobility. The safety and airworthiness of eVTOL aircraft and systems are the critical issues to be considered in eVTOL design process. Regarding to the flight control system, its complexity of design and interfaces with other airborne systems require detailed safety assessment through the development process. Based on SAE ARP4754A, a forward architecture design process with comprehensive safety assessment is introduced to achieve complete safety and hazard analysis. The new features of flight control system for eVTOL are described to start function capture and architecture design. Model-based system engineering method is applied to establish the functional architecture in a traceable way. SFHA and STPA methods are applied in a complementary way to identify the potential safety risk caused by failure and unsafe control action. PSSA with
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which is used extensively in both military and civilian fields, has the advantages of good maneuverability, high cruising speed, and low requirements for the takeoff and landing modes. Robust and stable control is crucial to ensuring its safety because the dynamics model of an eVTOL aircraft will change significantly between fixed-wing and vertical takeoff and landing mode. In this paper, we first study the structural characteristics of the eVTOL aircraft and establish its dynamic model by considering typical flight modes and mechanical parameters. Then we design a closed-loop controller based on cascade PID technique. Finally, the effectiveness of the control algorithms is verified based on the semi-physical flight simulation platform, which can lower the development cost of control algorithms significantly. The simulation results demonstrate that the cascade PID control scheme accelerates the implementation of the robust
Joby Aviation Santa Cruz, CA 831-201-6700
The advanced air mobility sector — which includes electric-powered urban and regional aircraft — may become a $1.5 trillion market by 2040. New startup Aerovy Mobility could benefit airport and vertiport operators and real estate developers looking to establish advanced air mobility technology at existing and potential sites.
Advancements in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have generated significant interest within and beyond the traditional aviation industry. One particularly promising application involves on-demand, rapid-response use cases to broaden first responders, police, and medical transport mission capabilities. With the dynamic and varying public service operations, eVTOL aircraft can offer potentially cost-effective aerial mobility components to the overall solution, including significant lifesaving benefits. The Use of eVTOL Aircraft for First Responder, Police, and Medical Transport Applications discusses the challenges need to be addressed before identified capabilities and benefits can be realized at scale: Mission-specific eVTOL vehicle development Operator- and patient-specific accommodations Detect-and-avoid capabilities in complex and challenging operating environments Autonomous and artificial intelligence-enhanced mission capabilities Home-base charging systems
U.S. Air Force pilots completed remote-controlled flights of Joby Aviation’s S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype aircraft at the company’s California-based facility in April. It was the Air Force’s latest live eVTOL demonstration after airmen performed flights with LIFT’s Hexa at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in November 2022.
The aerospace industry is undergoing a revolution with the large-scale development of eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off & Landing) and MEA (More Electric Aircraft). These aerial vehicles, many of them unmanned vehicles (UAV), will serve a variety of service-related functions: Search and Rescue (SAR), Medivac, delivery and lift operations, aerial mapping, and, of course, human transportation [1]. Despite its numerous functionalities, this type of vehicle has a serious problem, which is its usual batteries, the main means for its operation. Due to its autonomy not being so effective compared to its charging time, generating a considerable loss of time. In this context, it is necessary to find forms of components that can replace these batteries, so that the effective development of these vehicles is possible. Studies done in other means of transportation point out that the use of hydrogen fuel cells has grown a lot. In this way, it is known that this type of fuel is seen as something of
It is widely believed that Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is poised to have a significant societal impact in the coming years to move people and cargo more rapidly and efficiently. AAM refers to a new mode of transportation utilizing highly automated airborne vehicles for transporting goods and/or people. The main goals of AAM vehicles are to reduce emissions, to increase connectivity and speed, while helping to reduce traffic congestion. These vehicles can take off and land vertically in designated urban locations called vertiports.
Recent advancements in eVTOL aircraft have generated significant interest within and beyond the traditional aviation industry. One promising application is for last-mile (and middle-mile) military transport and logistics, which can complement current mission capabilities and enhance operational readiness. With the dynamic and varying global challenges facing military operations, eVTOL aircraft can offer timely, on-demand, and potentially cost-effective aerial mobility components to the overall solution. The Use of eVTOL Aircraft for Military Applications: Last-mile Transport and Logistics explores the challenges that need to be addressed before identified capabilities and benefits can be realized at scale: Mission-specific eVTOL vehicle development Detect-and-avoid (DAA)capabilities in complex and challenging operating environments Autonomous and AI-enhanced mission capabilities Charging system compatibility and availability for battery-electric vehicles Simplified vehicle operations
Under the emerging urban air mobility (UAM) concept, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft were designed to alleviate urban traffic congestion due to their advantages of low take-off and landing site requirements, less pollution, low noise, and strong stability. However, due to the high-level power consumption of eVTOL and only having air flight mode, this kind of aircraft has a severe shortage of cruising range. To improve the endurance and dynamic performance, the flying car designed in this paper added a ground driving mode based on eVTOL and used distributed ducted fans to provide lift. And the influence of different power transmission routes on the dynamic and economic performance of the flying car was analyzed. On this basis, the overall take-off weight of the flying car was estimated through an iterative algorithm, and parameter design and power system matching for each part of the components were conducted. Finally, this paper used MATLAB/Simulink to build a
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