Autonomous flying vehicles are being prepared by Airbus! A team Airbus engineers are reportedly developing autonomous flying taxis aimed at flying above traffic to transport individual passengers and cargo in busy cities. The utopian vision may sound a bit far-fetched, but according to her company they plan to begin testing a prototype vehicle in late 2017.
In FORUM an Airbus corporate magazine, project executive Mr. Rodin Lyasoff claims that “In just ten years, we could have programs on the market that will revolutionize urban mobility for millions people. "
The project, named Vahana, started in February of 2016, and is a division of the Airbus based (where else?) In Silicon Valley. The design of the vehicle is already complete, and now engineers have begun to develop the subsystems of the first test vehicle.
The idea of flying over traffic is wonderful, but there are many practical issues to consider. US regulators are very conservative with unmanned aircraft and stand-alone vehicles, so the ten-year timeline does not seem to be realistic.
Then there are the technical obstacles: the aircraft must definitely have one technology which will allow him to "feel" and avoid that he is still under development.
"This is one of the biggest problems we aim to solve as soon as possible," says Lyasoff. Furthermore, when (and if) air taxis are operational and legal, will there be no shift of traffic from the ground to the air?
Despite the challenges, Airbus CEO Tom Enders is convinced that the company's plans are realistic.
"I'm not a Star Wars fan, but it's not crazy to imagine that one day our big cities will have flying cars along the streets in the sky," he said.
"In the not-so-distant future, we'll be using them smartphones us to book a fully automated flying taxi that will land outside our door. – No pilot”
Photo: techcrunch.com
