mobility solutionbuiltaroundUAM,bothgroundandairborne
vehicles will beavailableondemand.“Ijustpushthebutton
on my smartphoneandsomethingwillbewaitingformeatmy
doorstep,” hesays.
INFRASTRUCTUREANDREGULATORYSUPPORTWILL
ENABLE AIRMOBILITY
In 2017, therewerealready1.32billioncarsandtrucksontheworld’s
roads, while just26,000commercialjetscurrentlyhandleglobal
air travel. UAMutilisationwillbesomewhereinbetween.Achieving
full urban airmobilitywillrequireseveralhundredthousand
flying vehicles,andpossiblymillionsofthem.MorganStanleyhas
predicted thattheUAMmarketwillgrowtoUS$1.5trillionby2040.
To make thatvaluationa realitywilltakeappropriate
regulation andinfrastructure.“Justdevelopingandintroducing
flying vehicleswilldoverylittletoopenthemarket,”saysDrShin.
In the UnitedStates,theFederalAviationAdministration(FAA)
applies a safetystandardthatthereshouldbeonlya oneina
billion chanceofa “catastrophicevent”.“PeopleexpectUAMwill
have the samesafetystandard,”hesays.
Air-trafficmanagementwillbeessential.Duringthe
30 years he spentatNASAbeforejoiningHyundaiin2019,
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Dr Shin started a research program to develop UAS Traffic
Management (UTM), a system intended for drones. “UAM will
have to build on the back of this UTM,” he says. Organisations
like the FAA and businesses like Hyundai will have to work
together to certify the new class of vehicles, and there will
need to be production certification. “That’s also challenging,
because we may introduce many new manufacturing
technologies,” says Dr Shin.CONNECTING PEOPLE’S FUTURES
Once the groundwork is in place, Hyundai will be in a position
to build its UAM business to 30% of its total portfolio, covering
both logistics and passenger transport. Hyundai is involved in
every aspect of the value chain for mobility: not just vehicles,
but aftermarket service, infrastructure construction and finance.
That could let it offer a solution where Hyundai’s customers will
be able to book journeys involving multiple modes of transport
with a single app. “Hyundai Motor Group is an organisation that
can actually be holistic and put all these necessary elements
together,” Dr Shin explains.
Key milestones begin towards the end of this decade with the
launch of the first, autonomous UAM vehicles in 2028. Hyundai
also plans to operate regional air mobility (RAM) vehicles that
s from the 2030s. “Human nature
obal trend of rapid urbanisation
ot change,” says Dr Shin. “Sooner
ter, people will need Urban
Mobility.” And when they
do, Hyundai will be there to
meet them.UAM:
US$1.5 trillion
The UAM market will grow
rapidly from US$7 billion in 2020 to
US$1.5 trillion in 2040