Air Corridors: Concept, Design, Simulation, and Rules of Engagement

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Transportation Systems
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Advanced air mobility (AAM) requires robust infrastructure, including designated 'air corridors' for safe operations.
• Current airspace management is insufficient for the high density of future AAM vehicles like air taxis and emergency medical services.
• Virtual highways in the sky, operating at 1000-2000 ft, are essential for integrating AAM into urban and rural environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present fundamental insights into designing highly efficient and zero-collision air corridors.
• To establish a foundational understanding of AAM traffic management within a controlled airspace.
• To analyze the operational parameters and safety considerations for future aerial transportation networks.

Main Methods:

• Definition of key AAM infrastructure components: air cube, skylane, intersection, vertiport, gate, and air corridor.
• Proposal and analysis of a multi-layered air corridor model.
• Detailed traffic analysis at intersections, including various turning maneuvers.
• Introduction of air corridor capacity concepts and vehicle distribution models.
• Simulation of traffic flow to evaluate corridor performance and collision probability.

Main Results:

• A multi-layered model for air corridor design is proposed.
• Analysis provides insights into traffic dynamics at intersections, crucial for collision avoidance.
• The concept of air corridor capacity is introduced, alongside vehicle distribution and collision probability assessments.
• Traffic flow simulations validate the proposed models and demonstrate potential operational efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The proposed air corridor design framework supports efficient and safe AAM operations.
• Understanding traffic flow and intersection dynamics is critical for preventing mid-air collisions.
• The study provides a basis for developing operational standards and simulation tools for future aerial mobility networks.