Vertiport Segmentation for Urban Air Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transportation systems, particularly in densely populated areas, face congestion issues due to the lack of efficient infrastructure for air taxis and vertiports, which are needed for urban air mobility solutions.
Innovation Solution
An integrated urban air mobility system that includes air taxis with boarding capsules and vertiports with dedicated movement spaces, take-off, and landing stations, along with assistance devices and conveying systems to manage the safe and efficient operation of multiple air taxis, allowing for rapid and controlled movement of air taxis, boarding capsules, and aircraft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If air taxis and vertiports are introduced to alleviate traffic congestion, then transportation efficiency is improved, but infrastructure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vertiport is segmented into distinct functional zones: a first vertiport for takeoff operations and a second vertiport for landing operations. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each zone, reduces operational conflicts, and enables parallel processing of takeoff and landing sequences, thereby improving overall transportation efficiency without proportionally increasing infrastructure complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes vertical dimension by positioning takeoff and landing vertiports at different heights and connecting them via aerial highways. This three-dimensional arrangement allows simultaneous takeoff and landing operations without ground-level congestion, effectively increasing transportation capacity while minimizing the horizontal footprint of infrastructure
2Adaptability or versatility
If dedicated take-off and landing sites (vertiports) are built for air taxis, then urban air mobility is enabled, but land use area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from two-dimensional ground-based vertiports to three-dimensional aerial vertiports connected by elevated highways. This allows takeoff and landing operations to occur above ground level, significantly reducing the land footprint required for vertiport infrastructure while maintaining full urban air mobility functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent nests the vertiport infrastructure within existing urban structures by positioning takeoff and landing sites at different vertical levels and connecting them through aerial corridors. This nested arrangement integrates the air mobility system into the urban fabric without requiring extensive additional land area
3Productivity
If multiple air taxis operate simultaneously, then transportation capacity increases, but operational safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
Operational sequences are segmented into distinct phases: takeoff preparation at the first vertiport, ascent along aerial highways, and landing at the second vertiport. This temporal and spatial segmentation of operations reduces conflict between multiple air taxis, allowing increased transportation capacity while maintaining safety through structured operational protocols
Solution Approach 2:
Aerial highways serve as intermediary corridors between takeoff and landing vertiports, providing dedicated pathways that isolate incoming and outgoing air taxi traffic. This intermediary structure prevents direct interaction between conflicting traffic flows, enabling higher operational capacity with maintained safety
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated urban air mobility system includes: an air taxi including a boarding capsule adapted to allow a passenger to board or alight from the boarding capsule in a boarding/alighting area, and an aircraft adapted to dock with the boarding capsule and flying in an airway; and a vertiport having an outer wall defining an interior space, the interior space including an air taxi movement space in which the air taxi moves, a boarding capsule movement space in which the boarding capsule moves, and an aircraft movement space in which the aircraft moves.