myCopter – Enabling Technologies for Personal Aerial Transportation Systems

Abstract

Current road transportation systems throughout the European Union suffer from severe congestion problems. A solution can be to move towards a Personal Aerial Transportation System, in which vehicles would also have vertical space at their disposal. In the myCopter project, funded by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme, the viability of such a system will be investigated. It is argued that this should be done by taking into account the required operational infrastructure, instead of starting with the design of a vehicle. By investigating human-machine interfaces and training, automation technologies, and socio-economic impact, the myCopter project aims to provide a basis for a transportation system based on Personal Aerial Vehicles. In this paper, an outline of the project is given. Early research results are detailed and provide a basis for the remainder of the project.