SXSW 2018 Day 5 Session 1: Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads: Fly eVTOLs

Session page, including audio: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/events/PP80710

Antonio Campello, Embraer

Mark Moore, Uber

Kym McNicholas, The Innovators Network

A year ago Uber and Embraer declared a partnership to create an eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles) service, with a target date of 2020 for a test launch and a commercial launch in 2023.

Antonio: We feel that small, available aircraft will be an important way to reduce traffic jams.

Mark: We’re creating a new transportation solution with an optimal user experience.  The first tests will be conducted in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport (Texas) in 2020.  As of now, there are two companies committing to create eVTOLs, with Embraer being one of them.

These will be vehicles driven by commercially rated helicopter pilots; autonomous vehicles will be further down the road.

Antonio: Having more competitors in this domain is a good thing for the industry as a whole.

Kym: How do you deal with the FAA, that is very slow to accept change?  For example, currently it mandates two pilots to fly a commercial aircraft.

Mark: We need to work together with everyone to make collaborative progress.

Kym: What is the vehicle like?

Mark: The longest trips it will be able to make is 60 miles; we expect the average trip to be about 23 miles.  You will be able to charge its battery in about 5 minutes.  It will carry four passengers (and a pilot).  It will be very quiet – around 20 decibels quieter than a traditional helicopter.  It will have distributed electric propulsion, designed to support multiple failures.  Different companies design it in different ways.

Antonio: We will need to deal with air traffic management and interconnection among vehicles.  We need to ensure a full ecosystem of transportation (car to eVTOL to other systems).

Kym: What does the seamless experience look like?

Mark: It’ll just be another option in the Uber app.  You select Uber Air, a car will take you to the local skyport, from where you fly to a city center, where another Uber car can wait for you on the other side.  It will help make living in the suburb and commuting into the city cheaper than living in the city.

Antonio: We are designing and building the solution for affordability – everyone should be able to afford it.

Mark: Uber has no interest in this project if it’s just an elite service – we’re committed to making it an affordable one.  The air vehicles don’t waste time in traffic, so they are more productive, so they would be less expensive.  Plus, they have ride sharing, which reduces price.

Kym: What about controlling airspace?  Multiple companies are involved, who will control the airspace?

Antonio: Depends on the certification authority, the software, the integration and other factors.  Traffic control is a key element to help support 3D movement.

Mark: Uber’s main contribution to the ecosystem is its fleet and network management capabilities.  We would use an Unmanned Traffic Management system (UTM) built for NASA, which enables many thousands of vehicles to fly at low altitudes.  It works like a packet management network system.

Antonio: Current aircrafts are highly computerized and communicate with the ground.  The technology is bringing huge benefits, and in this domain it will help as well.  It’s an incremental step over what we have currently.

Kym: Will the software be shared?

Mark: No.  It will be enabled for our partners.  Other networks will be built.

Kym: Where does the FAA come in?

Mark: We’ll be collaborating with the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

Question: Will this not amount to privatizing ownership of airspace?

Mark: It’s not privatizing ownership of airspace, but it is private ownership of networks or corridors in airspace.