Terra Drone Corporation, a leading drone and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology company headquartered in Japan, is pleased to announce that its group company and a global leader in UAS Traffic Management (UTM) solutions, Unifly, has released a new position paper titled “Navigating the Urban Airspace: UTM as a Catalyst for Urban Air Mobility”. The position paper presents Unifly’s vision and roadmap for enabling safe and scalable next-generation air mobility through advanced UTM solutions.
Background of Unveil the Position Paper
With accelerating urbanization worldwide, there is an urgent demand for faster and more environmentally sustainable modes of transport. Against this backdrop, Urban Air Mobility (UAM)—leveraging technologies such as drones and eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft—is rapidly emerging as a key solution for next-generation mobility.
Advancements in battery technology, lightweight materials, and automation are bringing eVTOL aircraft closer to large-scale commercial deployment. However, to realize safe and efficient operations, it is essential to address new challenges such as airspace safety and UTM infrastructure. As a leading UTM provider, Unifly has published this position paper to offer a comprehensive roadmap addressing these critical needs. The company clarifies the role of UTM as “digital infrastructure” that supports both the safety and scalability of airspace, and also provides recommendations for policy and regulatory framework development.
Overview of the Position Paper
The paper mainly covers the following topics and presents Unifly’s solutions and roadmap for the widespread deployment of next-generation air mobility.
Key topics include:
Transforming the Urban Sky
eVTOL aircraft will coexist with manned aircraft, helicopters, general aviation, and drones to offer a new transport option within the complex airspace over cities. With growing urbanization and evolving mobility demands, the foundation for aerial transportation is steadily taking shape.
Market Trends and Technology Advancements
Driven by technological breakthroughs and active investment from both the public and private sectors, UAM manufacturers are scaling up production at a rapid pace, even surpassing helicopter production volumes. New aircraft models—quieter, greener, and more cost-efficient—are increasingly entering the market, with urban ride-share-style air transport services becoming a tangible reality.
Key Barriers to Large-Scale Adoption
The widespread adoption of next-generation air mobility faces several major challenges, which pose significant barriers to seamless integration into existing transportation networks.
- Highly complex environment unique to urban areas
- Difficulty for existing air traffic control systems to manage a large volume of diverse vehicles
- Slow development of landing and take-off infrastructure (vertiports)
- Shortage of qualified pilots for UAM operations
- Absence of globally unified standards
- The delayed phased integration of air traffic management (ATM) and UTM in airspace shared by both manned and unmanned aircraft
Unifly’s Solution and Comprehensive Roadmap
To overcome these barriers, Unifly proposes a comprehensive roadmap to enhance UTM capabilities and enable safe and scalable deployment of next-generation air mobility. Key capabilities include:
- Strategic deconfliction of flight paths to prevent airspace congestion
- Vertiport slot allocation and management
- Optimal deployment and allocation of pilots and aircraft
- Real-time emergency response capabilities
- Preparation for the introduction of “Digital Flight Rules (DFR)” aimed at autonomous and remotely piloted operations
Through these initiatives, Unifly aims to establish a robust and reliable operational management framework that will support both safe and efficient operation of next-generation air mobility in urban areas.
Unifly’s Track Record and Future Prospect
For nearly a decade, Unifly has provided UTM solutions to aviation authorities and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) across the globe. The company remains at the forefront of next-generation airspace management systems centered on UTM and continues to actively contribute to their realization.
Through this position paper, Unifly aims to engage policymakers, industry leaders, and a wider audience with its strategic vision and to promote collaboration and dialogue toward building a safer and more efficient next-generation air mobility society.
The full the position paper can be downloaded here: https://www.unifly.aero/utm-uam-aam/
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