The establishment of a regulative framework is to be an ongoing process, but progress is being made. In the U.S, for instance, FAA has already started discussing certification options with several manufacturers, initially addressing piloted passenger drones, then autonomously assisted aircraft and finally fully autonomous aircraft at a later stage.

5. Overcoming psychological barriers

The idea of flying in passenger drones may sound appealing but at the same time, it’s a big step into an unknown where commuters, once drones reach their full autonomous potential, will have to trust technology to get them from a to b safely.

In 2017, a report from UBS, a Swiss global financial services company, found that more than half of the respondents would refuse to travel in a fully autonomous aircraft, although this was somewhat generational and is likely to change over time as regulatory frameworks and well-documented safety records take form.

It’s clear the results of the flagship projects in the next decade are going to be crucial to catapult eVTOLs into the urban mobility mix successfully. However, to establish a broader, longer-term acceptance of passenger drones, they will need to be as versatile and safe as cars are today.

This will require advances in technology to ensure long-range travel and further infrastructural improvements in almost all aspects of urban planning today.

The urban air mobility market is a $35bn global opportunity

According to the UBS report, the move toward pilotless aircraft and urban air mobility represents a massive $35 billion global opportunity in potential savings for the aviation industry, derived from reducing annual costs related to pilots, training, fuel, and insurance.

In addition to these potential savings, the urban air mobility market represents brand new business opportunities for the entire supply chain–encompassing aircraft manufacturers to OEMs, MROs, and operators alike.

The exact figures of these business opportunities are yet to be determined, but if the urban air mobility sector continues to grow as fast as anticipated, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes an integrated part of the aviation ecosystem.

Additive manufacturing: Here are the opportunities for the aviation industry.

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Urban air mobility: Creating a city of passenger drones and air taxis