Rethinking Infrastructure for AAM Part Three – Summary
Many companies working in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector have goals of getting their AAM fleets off the ground sometime in the next decade. To ensure that, multitudes of vertiports—facilities to service air taxis and their passengers—will need to be constructed throughout cities to make this new mode of transportation viable. On top of having yet to be built, many factors in vertiport design and development still need to be addressed, from efficient energy management to promoting sustainability. Digital transformation can be a key tool to finding solutions to these considerations in time with companies’ goals.
This topic and more are the focuses of the latest episode of Talking Aerospace Today. Todd Tuthill, Vice President of Aerospace and Defense (A&D) for Siemens Digital Industries Software, and John Nixon, Vice President of Energy, Chemicals, and Infrastructure, conclude their episodes-long discussion of AAM infrastructure. In this episode, they identify ways to further enhance the sustainability of vertiports, and how software tools such as the digital twin and artificial intelligence can enhance vertiport design and operations.
New infrastructure for a sustainable future
Todd and John have talked before on the importance of making new vertiports sustainable. Many AAM companies plan for their aircraft to run on battery power, but if the energy used to charge these batteries comes from fossil fuels, then the entire purpose for designing the aircraft this way becomes pointless.
Some strategies to make vertiports sustainable have already been highlighted in the previous episode. John explained the benefits of using distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar panels and small onsite wind turbines, as well as microgrids to increase energy reliability. He also explored the potential for small modular reactors (SMRs) to utilize clean, nuclear power in a smaller, safer manner.
There are even more ways to improve vertiport sustainability beyond the source of power, however. Companies building vertiports can incorporate efficient design principles for lighting, heating ventilation, etc., in addition to employing smart energy management systems to monitor and optimize energy consumption in real-time. The tiny considerations matter just as much as the larger, more apparent ones.
Success with digital transformation
Finding solutions for vertiport sustainability and other important considerations will be a lot of work. As a small industry backed largely by venture capital, AAM companies will want to make the right decisions in finding these solutions as early as possible to follow through with their planned times to market. This is exactly what digital transformation enables companies to do.
By incorporating powerful software tools and processes in their engineering methodologies, engineers can do more using less time and resources. For example, Todd and John highlight the benefits of building a physics-informed digital twin. As a virtual representation of a product, engineers can run the digital twin through simulated scenarios and identify issues before ever building a physical prototype. This could greatly improve vertiports by giving engineers early insight into energy management and potential features that could improve day-to-day usage.
Digital transformation can also go beyond the design phase. By installing IoT-enabled sensors in vertiports, companies can monitor energy use, environmental conditions, equipment status, and more in real-time, allowing for immediate responses to potential problems. Additionally, advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence can quickly analyze vast quantities of data from sensors and connected devices to identify patterns and predict passenger demands. All these tools serve to optimize vertiport operations and ensure top-quality service at all times.
Making vertiports sustainable is central to ensuring the future of advanced air mobility, and digital transformation is the key to achieving that and more. From design to operation, tools such as the digital twin, IoT sensors, and many more can help companies build and run top-of-the-line vertiports, and provide first-rate support for this new, exciting form of aviation.
Continue listening to Talking Aerospace Today for more on AAM and digital transformation in the A&D industry.
Siemens Digital Industries Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.
