Rotating Rooftop Skyport Layout for Safe High-Throughput eSTOL Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Urban air mobility systems face challenges in finding suitable landing and takeoff infrastructure within densely populated areas, requiring safe, efficient, and publicly acceptable solutions for high-frequency operations of eVTOL aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A rotating double-deck skyport system designed for installation on high-rise buildings, featuring dual runways, robotic battery swapping, and a climate-controlled lower deck for efficient operations, ensuring safety, public acceptance, and high utilization rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a skyport is installed on building tops in densely populated urban areas, then land use efficiency is improved and ground space is preserved, but safety risks increase due to proximity to populated areas
Solution Approach 1:
The skyport system transitions ground-based operations to aerial operations by installing landing platforms on building rooftops. This dimensional shift from ground level to elevated positions allows aircraft operations to occur above densely populated areas rather than within them, preserving ground space while enhancing safety by creating vertical separation between aircraft and people on the ground.
2Productivity
If high-frequency takeoffs and landings are implemented, then productivity is improved, but safety risks increase due to higher operational density
Solution Approach 1:
The skyport employs a rotating double-deck structure that can dynamically reconfigure its configuration. The rotation mechanism allows the platform to orient different runway and gate combinations toward the wind direction, optimizing aircraft performance and safety margins. This dynamic adaptation enables high-frequency operations while maintaining safety by continuously adjusting to optimal configurations rather than operating from a fixed, potentially suboptimal arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The skyport divides the platform into multiple decks with separate runway and gate areas. This segmentation allows simultaneous or near-simultaneous operations on different decks, increasing throughput while maintaining safety distances between aircraft. The physical separation of operations into distinct zones prevents congestion and reduces safety risks associated with high-density operations.
3Productivity
If a rotating double-deck structure is used, then aircraft throughput is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating double-deck structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides separate runway areas for takeoff and landing, accommodates multiple aircraft gates, enables wind-directional optimization through rotation, and allows vertical stacking to double the capacity within the same footprint. This multi-functionality justifies the increased structural complexity by delivering proportional benefits in throughput and operational flexibility that a simpler structure could not achieve.
4Loss of time
If rapid battery swapping is implemented, then turnaround time is reduced, but device complexity increases due to robotic systems
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic battery swapping system operates autonomously without requiring human intervention during the swap process. The system self-manages the complex tasks of locating, removing, replacing, and recharging batteries through automated robotic mechanisms. This self-service capability reduces turnaround time to minutes while containing complexity within the automated system itself, rather than requiring complex human coordination and manual procedures.
Data Source
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Figure 4A
AI summary
An urban air mobility building-top skyport for landing, loading and unloading, servicing, and parking short field takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, which includes a rotatable flight deck having at least one runway on which aircraft takeoff and land; a rotatable lower deck immediately below the flight deck and including an aircraft taxiway surrounding an enclosed central terminal with an elevator bank; and first and second aircraft ramps connecting the flight deck and the lower deck on which to taxi aircraft between the flight deck and the lower deck. A battery-swap station robotically replaces depleted batteries with fully charged batteries without the need for aircraft to cease moving at slow taxi speeds at any point during the process.