Most people associate future transportation with electric-powered vehicles, such as electric cars, electric scooters, or electric buses, with companies such as Tesla rapidly replacing gas motors. However, what many fail to notice is a new developing form of transportation, urban air mobility (UAM), and the possibility of its flying vehicles replacing current ground-based vehicles. 

Currently, urban air transportation does exist through vehicles such as helicopters, but it is not readily accessible for the general public to use due to its high operating cost and the possible negative public response to the noise they create. However, with recent advances in flight technology and 5G communication, UAM drones for commercial passenger use are increasingly becoming a realistic possibility.

The UAM market is anticipated to grow rapidly; some researchers even predict it to reach $12.4 billion by 2027. With this promising prospect, many companies are developing technology to make these flying vehicles a reality for the near future. Joby Aviation, a Californian aerospace company founded in 2009, is testing its air taxis, with intentions to release its vehicles for commercial use as early as 2024. Other companies, such as German company Lilium and Japanese startup Tetra, are also showing significant progress in developing electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles (eVOTL). 

https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/ces-2020-hyundai-to-reveal-its-flying-car-122275/

UAM services are not only projected to be used to replace ground-based transportation but also to be utilized to provide more efficient modes of logistics for e-commerce, as companies are looking to employ vehicles such as drones to make deliveries faster and more efficient. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already approved UPS to utilize drones as a commercial airline in 2019. Amazon, the largest e-commerce company in the world, has also announced plans to launch the Prime Air service with the capability of delivering customers' orders in as quick as 30 minutes, which would easily replace the current two-day Prime shipping. 

Flying vehicles are no longer a fictional or outlandish concept that can only be imagined through books and movies. With well-funded companies showing promising development, UAM vehicles have the capability of providing an affordable mode of transportation that dramatically reduces commute times and may even become as common as ground-based cars in a matter of several years.

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