Going Vertical!

In the Puget Sound region, transportation is truly multi-modal.  Roads and highways connect communities to ferries and floatplanes at docks and airports.  Travelers walk, roll, and ride in trips with numerous links . . . and numerous potentials for missed connections.  Critical roadway links are at-risk from seismic events and even the harsh realities of aging infrastructure.  What happens when the Cascadia Subduction Zone event occurs?  How will essential workers and critical supplies reach hospitals, clinics, and neighborhoods?  What mobility services will directly connect islands to medical centers and hilltops to valleys across water, land, and the communities that need better mobility?

Advanced/Urban Air Mobility systems are already transporting freight and people using safe, quiet, and reliable all-electric multi-rotor aircraft. The Pacific Northwest’s largest cities provide for use cases that could dramatically improve disaster response and access to medical care while providing mobility options that advance equity and sustainability. Contribute your ideas and share your experiences in this multi-day ACES Northwest Network Seminar Series event! Our collaboration with Cascade AUVSI will feature Network affiliates Teague, Village Reach, and Hyundai. We’re planning for event activities on May 19 and May 20, 2021, our first two-day Seminar Series event featuring breakout workshops and two plenary keynotes that you won’t want to miss! Look for more information on this event soon.

Seminar Agenda

Day 1: Advanced Air Mobility Today

• Welcome and Introductions
• State of the Practice: Advanced Air Mobility Takes Flight
• Day 1 Workshop Descriptions and Breakout Room Instructions
• Keynote: Village Reach
• Breakout Workshops 1A and 1B
• Workshop 1A: Challenges in a World of Water and Weather
• Workshop 1B: Air Mobility Enhances Disaster Response and Medical Care
• Workshop Presentations
• Vision Casting: Integrating AAM Into the Multi-Modal Transportation System

Day 2: Advanced Air Mobility Tomorrow

• Welcome and Introductions
• Day 1 Recap and Day 2 Workshop Descriptions
• Keynote: Teague
• Breakout Room Instructions
• Overview of Global Deployments and Regulatory Climates
• Breakout Workshops 2A and 2B
• Workshop 2A: Connecting Islands and Bridging Gaps
• Workshop 2B: Quiet, Safe, and Accessible
• Workshop Presentations
• Capstone: Policy and Collaboration Workshop

Breakout Workshops

Workshop 1A:  Challenges in a World of Water and Weather

Salt.  Ice.  Wind.  AAM in Puget Sound will operate in one of the most challenging environments on the globe, pitting autonomous piloting systems against instrument meteorological conditions in some of the busiest General Aviation airspace in the world.  What organizations will we need to leverage to work together to make AAM work well?

Featuring: 

Workshop 1B:  Air Mobility Enhances Disaster Response and Medical Care

A Cascadia Subduction Zone event will likely divide the region, breaking critical links and leaving air support without Boeing Field and Renton Airport.  How can AAM assets be positioned to provide transportation for critical workers, medical supplies, and emergency equipment?

Featuring: 

Workshop 2A:  Connecting Islands and Bridging Gaps

AAM can replace many-mode trips with a bicycle ride, an AAM transit, and a short hop on another bicycle.  In many cases, AAM will be the single mode that can provide a way around, terrain, and traffic congestion.  What does this means for travel across the Sound and even within the Seattle area?  How will transportation planners need to adapt to a future of private equity investment in transportation infrastructure and operations? 

Featuring: 

Workshop 2B:  Quiet, Safe, and Accessible

The power of AAM lies in the all-electric propulsion system with multiple rotors.  This mode of transportation promises to greatly reduce the noise effects and safety risks associated with conventional rotorcraft transport, truly in a class of its own.  The energy needs can be provided entirely on-site and batteries can be the foundation of local community microgrids.  How can AAM’s promoters demonstrate to the public that these are not just a new type of helicopter?

Featuring: Yolanka Wulff (Moderator)