Sustainable and autonomous carbon-neutral aerial ecosystems and energy solutions for future metropolises (AeroPolis)

Solving the challenges of future transportation requires a solid understanding of the megatrends in urbanization, digitalization and energy. Automated vehicles in particular create new zero-carbon services when combined with renewable energy and urban design and attractive opportunities are found in the development of autonomous aerial vehicles, addressing greener last-mile delivery services. Several challenges in this sector are also shared throughout other fields, ideally making the related automation and energy solutions universal. AeroPolis proposes a new take on the aerial logistics ecosystem by defining how autonomous urban-embedded micro-airports and open logistics-ready drones can redefine and advance the current technological possibilities. This is then combined with a digital platform that leverages distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), advanced aerial autonomy and ground-to-air coordination approaches, and integrated hybrid renewable solar+fuel cell energy solutions.