SAE Update - March 2021 - 10

Cover Story

10

March 2021

NASA

agricultural, marine, amphibious,
etc.). In addition, drones, eVTOLs
(electric vertical takeoff and
landing transports), and
autonomous delivery vehicles as
part of an evolving system of
urban air mobility (UAM) and
urban ground mobility (UGM) are
all emerging manifestations of
mobility.
In the past decade,
advancements in
telecommunications and
computing have dramatically
altered mobility. Today, when we
speak of transportation, we are
also speaking of automated
vehicles, smart cities, and dozens
of other innovations that possess
the ability to not only move
people and goods, but also to
reshape our lives and societies
and influence the fate of our
planet.
At SAE International, we pride
ourselves on being THE mobility
organization. When we state our
mission to " advance mobility
knowledge and solutions for the
benefit of humanity, " we don't
limit it to the obvious
manifestations of mobility or its
traditional interpretations.
At SAE's inception,
automobiles were starting to
replace the horse and buggy, and

Expanding the scope of mobility


NASA's N3-X Hybrid Wing Body Turboelectric Plane Concept.

the first aircraft was just taking flight. Since that time,
we've seen the modes of mobility evolve drastically
with the emergence of autonomous, electric, and
urban air vehicles, among others, and new markets
such as the defense and commercial industries
applying new technologies to differentiate their
positions in the mobility sector.
As we look to what's next for mobility, it is critical to
identify the most impactful technologies, especially
those that may have initially matured in different
sectors but offer promise for the world of mobility.
SAE International is redefining and expanding our
definition of mobility to include these adjacent
technologies:
*	 Advanced manufacturing
*	 Advanced materials
*	 Advanced propulsion
*	 Automated and unmanned systems
*	 Blockchain
*	 Cybersecurity
*	 Connectivity
*	 Electrification
*	 Quantum computing
UPDATE
SAE Update - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - March 2021
