eVTOLs, also called air taxis or flying taxis, are a rapidly evolving market experiencing equally rapid technological evolution. This year, United Airlines partnered with Archer Aviation to launch electric aircraft to serve as air taxis. These air taxis are in the testing phase, but they will be operational within the next few years, allowing customers onboard. To make this happen, interconnect solutions are needed as they are a critical part of engineering eVTOLs.
eVTOL is an acronym for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and these aircraft are designed to fly in crowded cities, reducing pollution, lowering emissions, and enhancing safety. Flying air taxis are an environmentally friendly transportation solution, considering these aircraft are either fully electric, hybrid, or powered by electric hydrogen.
eVTOL is the future of transportation, and dozens of companies are working hard at engineering their own designs. According to statistics compiled by Statista, the eVTOL market is expected to reach around one billion U.S. dollars in revenue by 2025.
Connectors are critical for delivering power, data, and signals for the urban air mobility market. In addition, various subsystem applications, including propulsion motors, controllers, batteries, inverters, sensors, and infotainment, require interconnect solutions.
A substantial amount of electrical power is needed to enable vehicle takeoff and maintain flight, making SWaP (size, weight, and power) critical to application performance. Other variables include distance, testing, and infrastructure.
For distance, factors include how far they are expected to travel and if they are powered by electricity or hydrogen. Connectors must be highly reliable and able to withstand high voltage.
Safety is a significant concern. For example, these vehicles must withstand regular shock and vibration loadings and harsh environmental conditions. Furthermore, passenger safety is the primary concern.
Are people able to get from point A to point B safely?
How reliably does the eVTOL perform in dangerous weather conditions?
Some safety features include redundant propulsion and flight control systems, advanced sensors and avionics, and fail-safe mechanisms for a safe landing, all requiring data transmission connectors that offer consistent performance regardless of operating conditions.
In addition, there are specific infrastructure needs for eVTOLs, such as helicopter pad charging stations, of which there needs to be more. These charging stations must be able to provide high-voltage, heat-controlled, and fast charging while handling outdoor environments.
Three product solutions to support the needs of eVTOLs include the following:
The ITT Cannon CCS1 EV fast charger is an innovative liquid-cooled high-power
The ITT Cannon CCS1 EV fast charging system provides continuous charging up to 500A at 1,000V. In addition, these connectors have low contact resistance, allowing them to perform in harsh environments. As a result, these are an excellent choice for eVTOL charging stations.
The Amphenol HV38999 connectors provide high-voltage solutions for next-gen aircraft power. These connectors are an expansion of Amphenol’s widely used MIL-DTL-38999 series and are designed to meet or exceed 38999 specifications. They provide excellent high-voltage solutions for next-generation aircraft requirements, including eVTOL.
Amphenol OCS connectors (Oval Contact System) are high-speed data transmission connectors that utilize a differential Twinax type contact system, providing many advantages for high-speed data transmission. They support data rates up to 10 Gbps per pair and protocols such as HDMI, SATA 3.0, 10G Base T, and Serial RapidIO.
PEI-Genesis has a dedicated team of technical engineers to support your design challenges. Depending on your requirements, they will help identify a catalog-off-the-shelf solution or a custom one. We can build quick-turn prototypes based on PEI’s large component inventory to test the product within your electronic system, supporting all your eVTOL connector requirements.