Key technologies of vertical take-off and landing infrastructure for urban air mobility: a comprehensive review

Abstract

As the frontier of multidimensional transportation systems, urban air mobility (UAM) is receiving increasing attention from international organizations, governments, and stakeholders in industry and academia owing to its high efficiency, low carbon footprint, and operational flexibility. Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) infrastructure is the core facility that enables UAM and is therefore essential for its safe, efficient, and large-scale commercial implementation. However, the key technologies for establishing low-altitude VTOL infrastructure are still nascent, and government, industry, and academia have yet to harmonize the corresponding construction, management, and operation standards. To address this gap, we herein systematically review the related progress and trends, comprehensively surveying the key technologies of establishing VTOL infrastructure serving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electric VTOL aircraft from three complementary perspectives of ground-side, airspace-side, and communication, navigation, surveillance, and information services. In the light of future UAM operations characterized by diverse vehicle types and dense air traffic, we propose a conceptual design for a public multioperator VTOL site to provide constructive insights into the sustainable growth of the low-altitude economy.

Keywords

Urban air mobility (UAM) / Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) infrastructures / Low-altitude operations / Communication, navigation, surveillance, and information (CNSI)

Rights & permissions

The Authors. Published by Zhejiang University Press Co., Ltd.