17 May 2021 Monday
Flying Taxi
Looking at the traffic of flying cars in Back to the Future (1985), someones maybe have been sigh with saying "I wonder if I see it?".
The development in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the last decade answers this question. UAVs are now in our lives in military missions, city management, media and freight transportation. In 2021, passenger transportation was added to these. Driverless drone taxis were introduced at the Digital China Summit held in Fujian province of China. The autonomous aircraft 216 AAV (Autonomous Aerial Vecihle), developed by the Chinese company Ehang which produces human-portable mega drones, flew with two passengers. The 216 AAV, which is pilotless, electrically powered and powered by 4G / 5G high speed wireless channel, is designed for low altitude short and medium range flights. 216 AAV, which has a maximum take-off weight of 600 kg, a load carrying capacity of 220 kg and a speed of 130 km / hour, seems to be able to easily meet urban transportation services.
Passenger and freight transportation which is a sub-branch of UAVs, is called Urban Air Mobility (UAM). According to Ehang's 2020 "White Paper" report, it is estimated that the "global market passenger revenues" of UAMs will reach 3 Billion USD in 2023 from 300 thousand USD in 2019. The business model that seems to have a high potential also has risks. Ehang constantly tests to ensure that there is no accident. Ehang is also aware that in a possible accident will be a loss of trust in UAMs and their shares will crash. Turkey takes an active role in UAVs. Baykar Defense Company makes its name known to the world with the UAVs it uses in military operations. In addition, it introduced the prototype of Cezeri, Turkey's first flying car. With a speed of 100 km / h and a range of 80 km, the maximum take-off weight of the Cezeri prototype is 241 kg.
Assistant Professor Orhan Özaydın, CMA.
References
www.ehang.com.
White Paper on UAM Systems by Ehang, (2020)
www.baykarsavunma.com.
