Lightweight and structural design

Lightweight construction and structural design play a crucial role in the development of next-generation air mobility vehicles. A human-centered design approach places the passenger at the core of structural development, balancing comfort, safety, and technical constraints. This includes meeting demanding aerodynamic targets, lightweight goals (e.g. < 200 kg for full cabin structures), precise mass distribution, and crashworthiness requirements—all while ensuring manufacturability and scalability.

Modern structural design combines carbon fiber composites for critical load paths with aluminum and honeycomb elements for energy absorption in crash zones. Advanced topology optimization tools, such as Altair Inspire, are used early in the concept phase to translate load cases into efficient structural layouts. The result is a CAD-based structural space model, refined through simulation and prototyping.

Development typically starts with ergonomic packaging models based on automotive standards (e.g., ECIE), validated with human models like RAMSIS. This ensures usability across a wide range of body sizes and supports requirements such as ease of entry, luggage loading, and overall spatial experience.

Production-oriented design is also essential. Inspired by lightweight vehicle manufacturing, structural assemblies often rely on bonded joints, modular construction, and partially automated processes to meet cost and volume targets.

In parallel, new design methods—such as Virtual Reality-based product data creation—are emerging. These immersive tools support faster iteration and better spatial understanding, particularly in early concept phases, and hint at the future of structural development.