Elevating the future of urban mobility autonomous passenger drones design

With the rapid development of technology in markets and industries, public focus has moved to the economic and social impacts that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may bring. Many technology companies have revealed their plans to launch electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOLs) and believe that on-demand aviation has an enormous potential to enhance urban mobility and will reform our transportation system. VTOLs can travel to the destination independently of any specific routine to avoid delays. These flying vehicles will use three- dimensional airspace to alleviate traffic congestion and traffic on the ground, shorten the time people spend on their daily commutes and have the potential to reduce global emissions by utilizing electricity as the primary energy source. This thesis project aims to design a short-distance multi-copter system which combines a drone structure with a passenger pod. The focus was on the conceptual development of a tilt fan and pod system that is fully powered by electricity. Two types of passenger drones were developed based on engineering specification, human factors, aesthetics, and industrial regulations. Multiple VTOL iterations with different interior layouts and structures were explored.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.F.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art and Design

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2020

Author dc:creator

• Ai, Siyu

Contributors dc:contributor

• Weightman, David

• VTOL
• Industrial design
• design
• UAVs

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2019 Siyu Ai

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106280

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/106280