Studies say that New York City drivers spend an average of 92 hours on the Big Apple’s highways and bridges each year.

Necessity is the Mother of all inventions. So is UAM

A brand new year brings with it a HOPE.  Hope for a better world to be in, better thoughts, better living…a better FUTURE. Just a simple change of a single date, but with it comes a massive sense of belief.

A belief to have a better year ahead.

Our CEO’s (Arjun Das) mother was in the Intensive Care Unit when Bangalore was hit by sudden and massive flooding a few years ago, cutting off arterial roads and making some parts of the city inaccessible. He tried going to the hospital in his massive SUV which gave up en-route and had to be left mid-way, following which he waded through waist deep water to reach the hospital. 

Studies say that New York City drivers spend an average of 92 hours on the Big Apple’s highways and bridges each year. This also means a massive increase in pollution since the number one cause of air pollution in a busy city is by far passenger vehicles plying the roads.

The Solution – eVTOL (eVTOL – Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing.)

Brilliant minds across the world were already predicting this problem and for almost a decade or more they were already realising that horizontal expansion is going to be limited. We can build cable cars, flyovers over flyovers, underground subways and more, but what next?

The vision for eVTOLs started in 2009 within NASA, at least as far as documented evidence goes.

eVTOL as the name suggests are electrically driven vertical take off and landing aircrafts, similar to a helicopter. It is equipped to take humans in it or take cargo and utilise the vast expanse of our skies without harming the environment. Synchronously flying Urban Air Mobility aircrafts, talking to each other, flying through defined paths in the sky, is a more sustainable, efficient solution to smooth transportation. 

A whole new environment

This change is not being made by an individual, but by an entire industry that had started believing in better years a while back. A combination of aeronautical engineers and software engineers work together to bring it to fruition. There are operational teams setting up vertiports to provide landing spaces. There are teams being trained to service and support the entire project. Technology is evolving fast to make all this a reality. All of it is unfolding even as you read this.  With the advancement of technology, it’s all possible NOW. And the future will be better, as we tackle a huge problem globally; Traffic and Pollution !

BUMBLE BEE FLIGHTS – Urban Air Mobility Vehicle (UAM)

But now, back to Arjun’s story. When he encountered such a serious obstacle in the face of a medical emergency, and being from an industry that makes drones, he went to his drawing board, and came up with an almost magical solution. A single seater, autonomous eVTOL which is designed for Urban use. 

We call this the BEE-1.

Why single seater ? Studies show that more than 70% of cabs hired around the world are booked by a single individual. The Bee1 is designed to be more acceptable. The size also keeps the weight minimal, and enables it to land on any terrace which has the required space and is designed following Civil Construction guidelines.

Why Autonomous ? Today Semi-Autonomous and Autonomous cars are gaining more and more acceptance, with fewer accidents to avoid what we call human error. There is a reason why getting a licence to fly is way more difficult than the licence to drive. We cannot afford to take chances. Today, most advanced airlines fly almost autonomously with the flight path already decided with the planes flying itself while the pilot enjoys his coffee. With the Bee1, we bring that advanced technology closer to you, to help you reach your destination safely.

Of course, there is a lot more to it – like safety, operational ease and more which we will share in the days to come. Our team has been putting together complex systems with all their experience to make a safe UAM, which makes it simple for the end user. This constitutes not just the hardware but also the software components. Bumble Bee Flights will be making the aircraft and will also build the required ecosystem too, keeping in mind the regulations of each region – which will include the ground control system, the end-user interface system and the maintenance systems to begin with.

THE VISION

‘Augmenting Human Potential’ is being done with an entire ecosystem of people who have BELIEVED and ENVISIONED the future with complex air mobility solutions, not limited to urban use; along with the required software setups required to coordinate this complex yet safe vision and utilise this massive untapped space that has infinite possibilities. 

Morgan Stanley predicts a fraction of this air taxi industry to grow to a 1.5 trillion dollar industry by 2040. The world of eVTOLs is just getting started and is set to soar in a way that will redefine the future.

This year, are you ready to zoom further ahead than ever before?