A Study of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Its Energy Consumption under Various Operational Environments

With the accelerating pace of urbanization worldwide, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has emerged as a promising next-generation transportation solution to alleviate urban traffic congestion.This study analyzes the definition, components, and core technologies required for UAM, and compares the power consumption characteristics of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL)-based UAM and Electric Vehicles (EV) under different operational environments.With Joby Aviation's S4 eVTOL and the Tesla Model S energy consumption and power energy costs were quantitatively assessed for both urban and intercity operations.The analysis revealed that eVTOL-based UAM offers approximately three times faster than EVs in urban environments and 2.5-2.7 times faster in intercity routes.However, a short-distance operations of eVTOL showed significantly lower energy efficiency, and even for long-distance operations, eVTOLs consumed over three times more electricity compared to EVs.To get widespread market adoption, advancements in eVTOL