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This study establishes design criteria for touchdown and liftoff (TLOF) pads, final approach and takeoff (FATO), safety areas, gates, and taxiways, which are components necessary for the operation of vertiports for urban air mobility (UAM), and analyzed vertiport capacity compliant with the arrangement of the components in a limited space. We used new vertiport design regulations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the vertiport design criteria. Vertiport components were sized based on Hyundai Motor’s S-A1 aircraft, and the layouts were classified as linear, satellite, and pier according to the arrangement of the TLOF pad and gate. The characteristics of each layout were analyzed for the same area. Based on these layouts, the parking space of Gimpo Airport that will be used for operating airport shuttles in the Seoul metropolitan area was measured and each layout was arranged to validate the characteristics of the layouts. Using the MATLAB program, we selected the most efficient layout among linear, satellite, and pier layouts, and estimated the TLOF pad and gate utilization rate. In addition, we evaluated the capacity of the two-story vertiport proposed by the Korea Airports Corporation for efficient use of space.

City air traffic as a new transportation mode has gradually attracted attention in recent years which will bring endless vitality to future urban development. An objective and accurate assessment of the vertiport capacity for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) is the basis for implementing air traffic flow management for UAVs, which is also a prerequisite for improving the efficiency of urban airspace resources used. Firstly, new topology designs are proposed and named as connected and compact topology designs based on the existing central airport topology design. Subsequently, three modes of operation are summarized for vertiports with multiple TLOF pads: independent operation, dependent operation, and segregated operation. In the next place, the overall traffic flow of the vertiport model is established based on AnyLogic while analyzing the logic of UAV operation in three modes as mentioned above. Eventually, according to the simulation results, the vertiport operation capacity, the UAVs delay, and surface area utilization under different operation modes and topology designs are analyzed. The simulation result shows that the overall average delay time of UAVs for independent operation mode is about 100 s less than that of segregated operation and it also shows that the utilization rate of independent operation mode under central design is as high as 54.42% while the utilization rate of TLOF pads of other design is less than 50%, and its vertiport capacity is the largest, so the independent operational mode under central configuration is the optimal combination.

The first step to steer passenger Urban Air Mobility (pUAM) towards the necessity of sustainability is to understand its impact on our urban transportation systems. This research emphasises the social footprint of passenger drones in scheduled operation as an early business model in European Functional Urban Areas. The literature review is guided by the corresponding Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators (SUMI). The prospective impact which the introduction of pUAM has on the evaluation of European transportation systems regarding their affordability for the public, their inclusivity for mobility-impaired groups, their accessibility to commuters and the level of customer satisfaction is analysed. Furthermore, the impact of pUAM on the perceived quality of public urban space is examined. Results indicate the overall social footprint of passenger drones in European transport systems to be negative. Early market pUAM may lead to an unbalanced distribution of potential benefits, with services tailored to address only a limited number of citizens. Highlighting pathways for a societal benefiting technology, recommendations are provided for urban planning and city development.

There is a growing desire to operate Uncrewed Air Vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments for parcel delivery, and passenger-carrying air taxis for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). The turbulent flows and gusts around buildings and other urban infrastructure can affect the steadiness and stability of such air vehicles by generating a highly transient relative flow field. Our aim is to review existing gust models, then consider gust encounters in the vicinity of buildings as experienced by flight trajectories over the roof of a nominally cuboid building in a suburban atmospheric boundary layer. Simplified models of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft are used to illustrate the changes in lift and thrust experienced by flight around the building. The analysis showed that fixed-wing aircraft experienced a substantial increase in angle of attack over a relatively short period of time (<1 s) as they fly through the shear layer at a representative forward velocity, which can be well above typical stall angles. Due to the slow flight speeds required for landing and take-off, significant control authority of rotor systems is required to ensure safe operation due to the high disturbance effects caused by localized gusts from buildings and protruding structures. Currently there appears to be negligible certification or regulation for AAM systems to ensure safe operations when traversing building flow fields under windy conditions and it is hoped that the insights provided in this paper will assist with future certification and regulation.

Novel electric aircraft designs coupled with intense efforts from academia, government and industry led to a paradigm shift in urban transportation by introducing UAM. While UAM promises to introduce a new mode of transport, it depends on ground infrastructure to operate safely and efficiently in a highly constrained urban environment. Due to its novelty, the research of UAM ground infrastructure is widely scattered. Therefore, this paper selects, categorizes and summarizes existing literature in a systematic fashion and strives to support the harmonization process of contributions made by industry, research and regulatory authorities. Through a document term matrix approach, we identified 49 Scopus-listed scientific publications (2016–2021) addressing the topic of UAM ground infrastructure with respect to airspace operation followed by design, location and network, throughput and capacity, ground operations, cost, safety, regulation, weather and lastly noise and security. Last listed topics from cost onwards appear to be substantially under-represented, but will be influencing current developments and challenges. This manuscript further presents regulatory considerations (Europe, U.S., international) and introduces additional noteworthy scientific publications and industry contributions. Initial uncertainties in naming UAM ground infrastructure seem to be overcome; vertiport is now being predominantly used when speaking about vertical take-off and landing UAM operations.

Urban air mobility operations, such as flying Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and small passenger aircraft in and around cities, will be inherently susceptible to the turbulent wind conditions in urban environments. Therefore, understanding UAM aircraft performance under microscale wind disturbances is critical. Gaining such insight is non-trivial due to the lack of sufficient UAM aircraft operational data and the complexities involved in flight testing UAM aircraft. A viable solution to overcome this hindrance is through simulation-based flight testing, data collection, and performance assessment. To support this effort, the present paper establishes a custom Stochastic microscale Wind Model (SWM) capable of efficiently generating high-resolution, spatio-temporally varying urban wind fields. The SWM is validated against wind tunnel test data, and subsequently, the findings are employed to guide targeted refinements of urban wake simulation. Furthermore, to incorporate realistic atmospheric conditions and demonstrate the ability to generate location-specific wind fields, the SWM is coupled with the mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This integrated approach is demonstrated through a case study focused on a potential vertiport site in Milan, Italy, illustrating its utility for assessing operational area-specific UAM aircraft performance and vertiport emplacement.

This paper presents the results of a demand forecasting study about the introduction of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) services in the metropolitan area of Milan (Italy). Demand forecasting is based on random utility mode choice models, which include factors related to the individuals’ perception of vertical take-off/landing and low altitude flying over urbanized areas. The use cases of UAM services include airport shuttles, intercity air connections, and “air-taxis”, i.e., UAM services for short-trips within the metropolitan area. Several scenarios have been considered based on the number of access points (“vertiports”) and UAM fare levels. The results indicate that airport shuttles have a modal share of trips to/from airports (for both business and leisure) in a range of 2-5%. They resulted to be more attractive than air-taxis, which have a modal share in a range of 1-3%. Furthermore, the probability of choosing UAM services for intercity travels decreases with the distance and the time required for access/egress to/from the vertiports, whose catchment areas are dependent on the level of service provided by competing modes (notably the presence of good railway and highway connections).

The efficient and timely delivery of pharmaceuticals is critical, particularly in regions with dispersed populations and challenging logistics. Inclement weather often disrupts ground transport, complicating the consistent supply of essential medications. Advanced air mobility (AAM), particularly through the use of drones, presents a promising solution to these logistical challenges by enabling smaller, more frequent deliveries to low density populated places and bypassing traditional transport constraints. This study evaluates the potential benefits of AAM for pharmaceutical transport in North Dakota (ND). The authors developed a comprehensive GIS and optimization framework to identify optimal locations for logistical centers and routes for drone and truck transport. The study introduces a person-years-saved (PYS) metric to rank the potential for AAM deployments to foster healthcare improvements in underserved communities. Moreover, the study found that drone trips were significantly more cost-effective and efficient than truck trips, with trucks being 2.3 times more expensive and having a 2.8 times higher underutilization rate. The study concludes with recommendations for regulatory support and future research to validate and expand the application of AAM in pharmaceutical logistics, contributing to improved healthcare delivery and operational efficiency in often overlooked rural populations. These insights provide a foundation for the practical implementation of AAM technologies, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize pharmaceutical logistics in challenging environments.

Amidst the increasing aerial traffic and road traffic congestion, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has emerged as a new mode of aerial transport offering less travel time and ease of portability. A critical factor in reducing travel time is the emerging electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles, which require infrastructure such as vertiports to operate smoothly. However, the dynamics of vertiport operations, particularly the integration of battery charging facilities, remain relatively unexplored. This work aims to bridge this gap by delving into vertiport management by utilizing separate taxing and parking levels. The study also focuses on the time eVTOLs spend at the vertiport to anticipate potential delays. This factor helps optimise arrival and departure times via a scheduling strategy that accounts for hourly demand fluctuations. The simulation results, conducted with hourly demand, underscore the significant impact of battery charging on operational time while also highlighting the role of parking spots in augmenting capacity and facilitating more efficient scheduling.

The new concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and the emergent unmanned aerial vehicles are receiving more and more attention by several stakeholders for implementing new transport solutions. However, there are several issues to solve in order to implement successful UAM systems. Particularly, setting a suitable framework is central for including this new transportation system into the existing ones—both ground and aerial systems. Regulation and definition of aerial networks, but also the characterization of ground facilities (vertiports) to allow passengers and freight to access the services are among the most relevant issues to be discussed. To identify UAM transportation networks, suitably connected with ground transportation services, digital twin models could be adopted to support the modelling and simulation of existing—and expected—scenarios with constantly updated data for identifying solutions addressing the design and management of transport systems. In this perspective, a digital twin model applied to an existing urban context—the city of Bologna, in northern Italy—is presented in combination with a novel air transport network that includes the third dimension. The 3D Urban Air Network tries to satisfy the principle of linking origin/destination points by ensuring safe aerial paths and suitable aerial vehicle separations. It involves innovative dynamic links powered by a heuristic cost function. This work provides the initial framework to explore the integration of UAM services into realistic contexts, by avoiding the costs associated with flight simulations in reality. Moreover, it can be used for holistic analyses of UAM systems.