NASA is leading the way in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) reflected by a turnout of over 400 people at the two-day gathering they hosted in Seattle for this emerging tech industry. During this gathering, they presented their plans to host a series of “Grand Challenges” for the tech community which hopefully will also build public confidence in this area of innovation that up until now has been a staple of science fiction, television shows, and movies for decades.
Their first Grand Challenge for the industry is to demonstrate safe operation of a piloted or remotely piloted aircraft, capable of carrying at least one adult-sized passenger throughout a simulated urban environment. This is set for late 2020, and organizations planning to participate are anticipated will have a diverse array of backgrounds, from companies interested in building the UAM vehicles themselves to others examining air traffic management in urban spaces.
“The turnout for this industry day signifies the community’s recognition that NASA is a leader in this area,” said Jaiwon Shin, an associate administrator at NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “NASA is committed to working with our industry and government partners in any way we can to safely integrate these new options for passenger and cargo air transportation services into our skies.”
The challenge isn’t without opposition, mainly from legal, regulatory, and infrastructure barriers. Less ‘concrete’ issues could arise from weather, as well as public perceptions about potential noise, safety, and pollution. However, confidence in the future of UAM as well as a need for this Grand Challenge comes from two NASA-contracted market studies. Both of them found not only a highly committed UAM community chasing the user scenarios researched, but very strong business cases worth striving towards.
