The design of an electric wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicle as part of an urban air transit system

An electric wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicle was designed to supplement the existing public transportation network in densely populated coastal urban areas like Hong Kong, Incheon, the Persian Gulf, and (in particular) the San Francisco Bay Area. Routes and passenger volumes were modelled using circuit analysis, and the design was optimized to maximize the system´s impact on traffic congestion and the resulting financial and environmental benefits. A concept of operations, including a battery-swapping procedure, was described, and aircraft performance was verified using a series of MATLAB simulations. It was determined that the transit system could reduce Bay Area greenhouse gas production by a total of 100 million kg annually and save commuters more than 10M commuting hours total and US$300 per person per year.