The long tail of transportation wags the dog
Air rights unlock the next wave of growth
The Romans used their roads to conquer and expand their ideas. Searching for my flying car I’m asking what needs to be built to have them in our future? Transportation that made the Roman Empire successful also accelerated its’ fall. This helps us understand why we need to speed up urban air mobility adoption.
Live in the future, then build what's missing. - Paul Graham
Go back to the future.
The Roman Empire was one of the most successful empires in history, spanning three continents and lasting for over 500 years. At the heart of its success was a network of roads that crisscrossed the empire, connecting its’ far flung corners with the beating heart of Rome itself.
The Romans were masters of transportation. They were able to move armies and supplies across their federation with remarkable speed and efficiency thanks to their extensive network of roads. These roads were built with precision, using a mix of concrete, gravel, and stone, and they were built to last. Many of these roads still exist today, thousands of years after they were first built.
The Romans used their roads to conquer new territories. They were able to move their armies quickly, allowing them to attack from unexpected angles. The speed of their movements gave them a significant advantage on the battlefield, allowing them to out manoeuvre their opponents. The roads allowed the Romans to transport supplies and reinforcements quickly to where they were needed, giving them a logistical advantage that few other armies could match.
Most of us look to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for civilian purposes, quick delivery, quicker movement from the airports to central business districts or medical supplies to help remote locations and lower the cost of drugs. A strong use case is defence and the military angle, it is one of the largest markets for UAVs. When we think of roads in the sky this takes on new dimensions.
(odysseytraveller)
One of the most important elements of the roads is they allowed goods and information to flow freely, promoting trade and commerce. This helped fuel the economy and made Rome even more prosperous.
Cities and towns sprang up along the roads, providing rest stops, taverns, and other services for travellers and traders. The roads were used by messengers, who carried news and information, helping to keep the government informed and connected. The parallels with the railroads growth and the strengthening of the US economy in the 1800s is striking. The analogy for highways in the sky today, obvious.
(Lexica)
There is evidence to suggest that transportation played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire. They got lazy and failed to innovate.
The road network was extensive and expensive to maintain, and as the empire began to decline, it became harder to keep the roads in good repair. This negative flywheel began to have an impact. It made it more difficult to move troops and supplies across the empire, making the army less effective. Ideas stagnated and failed to expand and real innovation slowed. Life became more decentralized and it became harder to keep the roads safe from bandits and raiders, making travel more dangerous. Without the Roman road network, the empire would never have achieved the level of success that it did.
A thousand roads lead us forever to Rome
Two thousand years on from the Roman Empire what are the transportation networks like, have we innovated to teleportation and solved the traffic problems?
No it seems not, clogging road arteries persist like the last gasp of an unhappy existence, which are barely as sturdy as Roman times. We are putting more cars on these roads with fanfare but they are just shinier versions of innovations from the 1800s. Trundling ships caught in canals that upend global trade. Creaking Victorian rail systems and large trucks speeding tiny packages to our homes. You can’t help but wonder would the early Romans put up with this crushingly disappointing level of understanding of what transportation can be?
We have blue skies above our heads that are waiting for us. UAVs with excellent technology wait in the wings, virtually grounded and hoping for a way to transit, like hapless serfs making themselves busy. Highways in the sky may sound far away but it’s not only possible, it’s starting to happening.
By building an air rights market we are planning the next phase of our transportation revolution. The ability to transit legally below commercial air space with the air rights owners permission and not slope slowly, wheezing into the history books is a problem worth solving. If you want to know more about how we’re doing this contact me jonathan@skytrades.io
(Lexica)
Skydio Raises $230M At $2.2B Valuation
Drone startup Skydio more than doubles its valuation from just two years ago and they need air rights to be able to take off.
The new round was led by Linse Capital and included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, Nvidia, the Walton Family Foundation, UP Partners, Hercules Capital and Axon. Founded eight years, Skydio has raised $562 million in total and still needs to find a way to legally fly over your local town. Their backers clearly need this to happen to unlock their investment.
Skydio produces drones for the consumer, enterprise and government sectors. Its drones are used by every branch of the U.S. Department of Defense and by over half of all U.S. State Departments of Transportation. It has more than 1,200 enterprise customers.
“Drones enable the core industries that our civilization runs on. Transportation, public safety, energy, construction, communications, defense and more to operate more safely and more efficiently” said co-founder and CEO Adam Bry
Jersey (UK) Drone Trials
Officials from Jersey recently met with their counterparts from Guernsey to discuss the potential implications of upcoming drone trials in the English Channel. The UK-sponsored trials aim to develop fast and affordable transportation services between the two islands, with initial demonstrations set to take place in spring 2024. They are intended to prepare for regular operation of drones in public and commercial services on both Jersey and Guernsey.
The Agile Integrated Airspace System program (ALIAS) selected Jersey as one of its testbeds for examining ways of integrating drones and automated cargo and passenger craft within UK airspaces. The trials will focus on the decarbonization of aviation and sustainability in the Channel Islands. The ALIAS program is funded by a $4.6 million grant from the government-linked UK Innovation and Research organization. Finding ways to use UAVs for positive impacts to their people is the right way for the officials to be moving.
The trial is a first step in a potentially life-changing development process for both islands. Once the landowners of these two tiny islands have their air rights in a market so they can be incorporated into the eco-system the circle will be closed.
Dutch flying car
SkyAngels Air Ambulance has announced a partnership with Dutch ‘flying car’ manufacturer PAL-V International to assess the potential applications of its fly-and-drive vehicle in emergency response operations. PAL-V, which has been developing its PAL-V Liberty flying car since 2008, has already secured approval for use on European roads and is now working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to obtain airworthiness approval and type certification. The company anticipates achieving certification in Q3 2023, with deliveries to customers beginning by the end of the year.
The PAL-V Liberty is a two-seater flying car that can fold its propellers when travelling on the road. According to PAL-V, the process of switching from driving to flying mode takes approximately six minutes, while a minimum of 70 to 200 meters are required for takeoff, depending on headwinds, with just 50 meters necessary for a landing strip. Although the vehicle will not be used as an air ambulance, it can fly over traffic, natural obstacles and lakes.
Highways in the Sky
For those of you who have been asking for more information on what I’m building and how you can get involved please email me at jonathan@skytrades.io and sign up as a paid subscriber to this newsletter, it helps us build and think. Thanks
