Vertiport System Segmentation for Urban VTOL Infrastructure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to create a vertiport system that can efficiently manage unmanned vehicles in densely populated urban areas, where space is limited and traditional airport infrastructure is not feasible.
Innovation Solution
The proposed vertiport system includes a charging station for unmanned vehicles, a repair station, and an Autonomous Artificial Intelligence/machine Learning based Unmanned Vehicle Vertiport station, which can be implemented at various locations such as buildings and hotels. This system supports general purpose services for robotic Unmanned Vehicles, including loading/unloading, deliveries, air traffic control, charging, and data dissemination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If traditional airport infrastructure is used for VTOL operations, then aircraft can be serviced and maintained, but large amounts of land are required which are not available in dense urban areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traditional airport infrastructure into separate functional modules: vertiport for landing/takeoff, charging station for power supply, and repair station for maintenance. These modular units can be distributed across available urban spaces such as rooftops and parking structures, eliminating the need for large contiguous land areas while maintaining full operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from ground-based horizontal expansion to vertical three-dimensional utilization by placing vertiports on rooftops, bridges, and multi-level parking structures. This dimensional shift allows air transportation infrastructure to be integrated into the vertical urban fabric without consuming additional ground space, thereby resolving the contradiction between limited land area and urban deployment versatility.
2Ease of operation
If flight vehicles are parked at the vertiport for loading and charging, then services can be provided, but the limited space at vertiport locations is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the loading and charging functions from the vertiport location itself and relocates them to dedicated charging stations and maintenance facilities. This separation allows the vertiport to serve solely as a compact landing and takeoff zone, maximizing its utilization efficiency while providing full service support through the distributed network of charging and repair stations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces charging stations and repair stations as intermediary facilities that mediate between the vertiport and the flight vehicles. These intermediary units handle the space-intensive operations of charging and maintenance, allowing the vertiport to maintain minimal footprint while ensuring complete operational support for aircraft.
3Productivity
If loading and charging are conducted at the vertiport, then flight vehicles can be serviced, but system bottlenecks increase variability which is undesirable at scale operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the service network into multiple distributed charging stations and repair facilities rather than concentrating all services at a single vertiport. This segmentation creates parallel service pathways that reduce queueing delays and minimize the impact of localized bottlenecks, thereby reducing system variability and improving overall productivity at scale.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary charging and maintenance actions at distributed stations before vehicles arrive at the vertiport. Flight vehicles can be pre-charged and pre-maintained at nearby facilities, reducing waiting times and eliminating service bottlenecks at the vertiport itself, thus improving system throughput and reducing operational variability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a vertiport system that can be implemented at a VTOL hotel for managing unmanned vehicles in delivering goods or passengers from a source location to a destination location smartly. The system includes smart aiml vertiport and vtol hotel, smart kitchen and casino autonomous intelligent infrastructure.