Air taxi hub to be established in Florida
The Lake Nona Vertiport will be built near Orlando International Airport in the Lake Nona community, which has ambitions to become a ‘smart city’ and is already home to medical and research facilities. The facility will cover more than 5,000 square-metres and concept images suggest that it will resemble a small airport. It is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Munich-based Lilium, which aims to es
tablish a flying taxi service, will supply the aircraft. The company has been working to develop a small electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle for several years. In May 2019, its five-seat Lilium Jet prototype – which is powered by 36 electric motors and switches between vertical and horizontal movement by pivoting flaps on its wings – completed its maiden flight. The Lilium Jet will travel almost 300km on a one-hour charge and reach speeds of up to 300km/hr, although it remains in development. Passengers will be able to book reservations for a flight on their phones in a similar way to conventional ride-sharing. The vehicles will be able to carry four passengers and a pilot between Orlando and Tampa in half an hour, allowing them to avoid the inconvenience of traffic and airports. The price will begin around the cost of a first-class ticket, but officials said that they hope this will decrease as the service becomes more popular. According to the New York Times, the city of Orlando has granted more than $800,000 in potential tax rebates to Lilium to support the hub. City leaders expressed hope that the development would create high-paying, high-skilled jobs in the area; according to commissioner Jim Gray, the project will create around 140 jobs. “For this new technology to truly reshape the transportation ecosystem and benefit Orlando residents long-term, it is going to take a true partnership between cities, developers, and transportation operators,” said Mayor Buddy Dyer. “We have been focused on finding the right partners to be a global leader in the advanced air mobility space.” The Lake Nona Vertiport is applying for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation. Earlier this year, Lilium announced deals with Cologne/Bonn and Dusseldorf airports to explore how the airports could establish themselves as hubs of a regional air-mobility network in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Author: E&T editorial staff
Date: 2020-11-12
URL: https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/11/air-taxi-hub-to-be-established-in-florida/
theiet.org
| Businesses may have to pay millions for unused electricity during lockdown (2020-11-23) | Data from Co-op Power reveals its members could have paid more than 1m combined for unused energy at closed sites based on contractual agreements with some previous suppliers The energy co-operative sees its members which have an annual buying power of 200m a year buy together to lower wholesale costs We know first-hand that the pandemic has put extra pressure on businesses Murrells said Whether t.. |
| Astronomers ‘undistort’ images to map dark matter (2020-11-06) | The new technique created by researchers at theSwinburne University of Technology in Melbourne draws on the effect calledweak gravitational lensing a feature of Einsteins general theory of relativity Scientists estimate that up to 85 per cent of the mass in the universe is effectively invisibleThis dark matter cannot be observed directly because it does not interact with light in the same way as t.. |
| How medical innovations are making life-changing differences (2020-11-05) | Medical wire that stops the trembling caused by Parkinsons disease Precision tools that can manufacture tailored prosthetic limbs durable and flexible enough to race down snowy slopes And 3D-printing technologies that can create skull and spinal implants in just a few hours With new and improved technology the potential for helping people who suffer from physical disabilities has never been greate.. |
| Sponsored: Protecting the armed forces with safety engineering (2020-11-16) | As a Safety Engineer at Defence Equipment and Support a specialised part of the Ministry of Defence Sophie Tredwell plays a vital role in making sure equipment used by the British Army and Royal Navy is safe Working on up to 10 projects at a time no two weeks are ever the same for Sophie From running working groups to observing safety trials and writing up safety documents every task Sophie undert.. |
| New battery recycling process lowers energy usage and greenhouse gases (2020-11-13) | Lithium-ion battery production has been booming in recent years due to their broad use in consumer technology like smartphones and laptops in addition to being a key part of the rapidly growing electric vehicle market The new process developed by a team at the University of California San Diego is designed to restore spent cathodes to mint condition It works particularly well on cathodes made from.. |
| Those ol’ new town blues (2020-11-10) | When you first see Ebbsfleet International railway station in the distance something doesnt appear quite right It is one of the best-connected stations in the country Four trains an hour will have you in London St Pancras in just 17minutes on the high-speed line There are even Eurostar trains that serve the station to take passengers directly to France and Belgium However it is surrounded mostly b.. |
| Government announces unit to tackle big tech dominance (2020-11-27) | The Digital Markets Unit will be tasked with giving people more choice and control over how their data are used by digital giants like Facebook Amazon and Google as well as ensuring that competing businesses are fairly treated The dedicated unit will be set up within the Competition and Markets Authority CMA It will coordinate its work with regulators including Ofcom which will soon take responsib.. |
| Welsh Government deprioritises cars for lower carbon forms of transport (2020-11-17) | Transport currently makes up 17 per cent of Wales carbon emissions and the draft strategy Llwybr Newydd New Path is set to shape the countrys transport system over the next two decades It contains nine mini-plans for modes and sectors: active travel rail bus roads the third sector taxis and private hire vehicles freight and logistics and ports maritime transport and aviation The plan sets out a ra.. |
| Effectiveness of ‘digital self-help’ app under scrutiny (2020-11-03) | The app is designed to prevent anxiety and depression and improve wellbeing and brings together the latest research on self-monitoring self-help techniques and cognitive behavioural therapy The team from the University of Exeter is specifically seeking those aged 16 to 22 years old and they hope the apps data will help them learn more about mood emotion and mental health in young people Understand.. |
| What tech giants can teach growing firms about global expansion (2020-11-27) | It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that now is an ideal time for tech firms to push ahead with plans to expand globally But in the face of significant instability operating in more than one country makes a business far more resilient So how can fast-growing tech companies achieve what their larger rivals do routinely: successfully enter new foreign markets? Big tech brands like Microsoft Netf.. |
