Why

Have you ever wondered on your commute: why does this suck? Why are there only half as many armrests as human arms on this commuter train?

And if you want to take a 1 hour flight anywhere, chances are you’ll spend 2 hours either side of it cramped in some hideous form of transportation, cursing traffic,  and then questioning why airport staff bark at you to place your tray back, even though you indirectly pay them to serve you!

80% of the door to door trip stinks. More seriously though: Google urbanization. Google overpopulation. If you’re young and you live in a big city you probably feel a little helpless. Property is too expensive. It’s too crowded. It’s not safe or comfortable to raise a family. It’s too noisy. It’s too dirty. Good food must be imported. It’s getting worse.

But I think there’s hope. In the same way the Internet has connected us (or in Elon Musk’s word’s given humanity a nervous system) and made the movement of information so much easier, there’s enormous scope to improve the physical mobility of goods and people (think circulatory system). If it becomes easier, faster and more dignified to travel, we can all spread out again, afford gardens, be less grumpy and hopefully buy puppies. I hope you get a sense of the grand challenge, and why I care.

What

I want to contribute to solving the challenge, in my own small way. Naturally I am an aero guy and love the idea of an air taxi where sustainable and suitable. Over the last few years I’ve spent my mornings and weekends learning design, ergonomics, aerial robotics and data science. I’ve used those things to think about ways to make mobility better. This website is home to all of my personal work including design, code and some hardware projects. All art and designs on the website are my own unless explicitly stated.I’ll also aim to keep the blog up-to-date with research and reviews on the grand challenge. I would love comments and contributions, currently looking to collaborate with an electronics engineer and somebody who’s good with structural textiles.

Who

Welcome to omarkadhim.com. I’m Omar. Born and raised in Jordan with spells in Australia and Yemen. I have been in my new home, the U.K. for the last 10 years.I studied aerospace engineering and have worked in various consulting, product development and commercial roles in the aerospace sector. I’m currently at the UK’s aerospace and defense trade association ADS which is a great intersection of aerospace industry leaders, mobility entrepreneurs, policy makers and government funding vehicles. My day job is to understand what makes our member aerospace companies competitive and work with them and government on strategic business development opportunities.