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A new generation of air mobility could revolutionize passenger transportation, and digital platforms must support it.
FREMONT, CA: Advanced Air mobility (AAM) is expected to take off in the second half of this decade. A variety of urban and regional transportation applications can be served with electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), small, battery-powered aircraft capable of transporting passengers and cargo, including commuting, airport taxi services, and medical transportation. AAM is poised to transform how people move across and between cities by being fast, clean, and comparable in cost to black-car taxi services at scale.
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The new platforms will impact all aspects of operations and customer experience, creating tremendous value for OEMs and operators who may utilize them to orchestrate the AAM ecosystem. Besides direct eVTOL flight operations, the ecosystem will incorporate intermodal trip orchestration, predictive maintenance, and regulatory interactions. AAM operations will require new digital platforms different from traditional aviation and the concerns corporations must consider when implementing them. It also helps AAM players determine whether to use specific digital platform components or use partners and suppliers.
Building AAM-specific digital platforms are essential as commercial airlines spend billion on software and IT of their overall spending. The technologies allow commercial and business aviation to generate complex flight plans and assign crew, determine which aircraft and airport workers need to be at which gates at what time, and allow passengers to book tickets and make modifications when weather disrupts operations. Digital platforms will enable essential AAM value chain functions and others. Because airline operations vary, especially for new use cases, existing airline solutions may only work for some AAM activities.
Based on mapping the AAM value chain, technology providers could benefit from new software enabling eVTOL operations and related services. Digital platforms might account for AAM value chain spending, equal to commercial aviation, while mobility services like ride-ordering interfaces and multimodal integration could boost. eVTOLs will enter service. AAM digital platforms must get designed and proven soon. Operators may need to create some of these systems from scratch and switch from hardware to software in this timeframe. Traditional aviation software developed over decades. Operators want to fly within and between cities; the platforms must serve urban and regional passenger and freight use cases. They must fit various aircraft, business models, locations, and regulatory environments.
Air operations may become more complex as passenger volumes rise, and cancellations and flight delays may be expected, especially in the industry's early days. Digital platforms must address the industry's unique needs, including operations at vertiports, battery management, and intermodal integration. Ability to adapt to new technology and business models, AAM uses advanced batteries. Autonomous flight may alter the industry, and the technologies require platforms that monitor battery life. Operators need software to handle vertiport ground employees and route aircraft and crews like commercial airlines. AAM operations differ from typical aviation, requiring new or improved platforms for specific roles.
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