INDUSTRY WATCH
INDUSTRY OBSERVERS
EXPECT THE BLOCKCHAIN
AIRSPACE TO BE A
US$1 TRILLION
BUSINESS BY 2035.
C
onversations about smart cities
have long since moved beyond
the hypothetical. Intelligent
infrastructure is all around us, helping us,
informing us, making us safer.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has
fused the physical and digital worlds
in ways unthinkable just a generation
ago. We can reduce immigration lines
at airports; ensure prompt and accurate
deliveries of goods and services; increase
customer engagement in the retail sector;
and improve crop yields. And we can
make our roads safer and less congested.
Look to the sky
So, as the world’s smart cities seek
to make their streets safer and more
convenient, what solutions might they
choose to adopt? I suggest the answer
lies in taking to the sky. Right now,
low-altitude airspace, particularly in
urban areas, lies virtually empty. And
autonomous vertical take-off and landing
(VTOL) aircraft can take the place of
taxis, delivery trucks and other vehicles, to
free up much-needed space.
Such an aircraft already exists.
Designed in one-seater and four-seater
configurations, each battery-powered
plane is 7 metres in length, has a 10
metre wingspan and weighs in at
1,050kg. It can handle payloads of up to
400kg while reaching cruising speeds of
245kph with a service range of 900km.
Its eight 60KW electric thrusters are also
gentle on the environment. And these
autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) are
modular, allowing easy assembly and
maintenance. This greatly reduces the
cost of manufacture and maintenance.
www.intelligentcio.com
Blockchain to the rescue
When it comes to Urban Air Mobility
(UAM), I believe the main challenge
facing implementation of an AAV
network is that of management capacity.
No city’s current volume of control towers
can service potentially thousands of
AAV flights. But we can overcome this
issue using a very powerful emerging
technology, the origins of which may
surprise you; its story begins in the
finance industry.
Blockchain was created to guarantee the
security and transparency of transactions
involving the cryptocurrency bitcoin. It is
a digital ledger, responsible for validating
and recording every transaction in the
virtual currency’s history.
The validation and storage of each
transaction – which thereafter becomes
a permanent part of the ‘block’– is
carried out by several participants within
the system, so that no one node, actor,
organisation or server can retain exclusive
ownership of the ledger.
Blockchain technology also enables
peer-to-peer exchanges of data to
occur without verification from a central
authority, making it a natural solution for
an airspace network. Each AAV represents
a blockchain node, running specialised
protocols that communicate with other
vehicles, and ground-based nodes, to
ensure the safe and seamless operation
of numerous aircraft.
Behold, the smarter city
To overcome the doubts of regulators,
blockchain platforms need to be
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