Airbus Plans to Test a Flying Car In 2017

Traffic jams could soon become a thing of the past. Aircraft maker Airbus is working on a prototype self-piloted flying car. It could be ready before the end of the year.

The idea is already being conceptualized. Tom Enders, the CEO of Airbus also stated that the company is planning to take the first step by testing prototypes in the latter half of 2017. “One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground,” he said. “Now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground,” Tom added.

“We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development very seriously,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said at a digital tech conference in Munich. Airbus has a division called Urban Air Mobility that is exploring this technology, particularly as traffic becomes an increasing problem in urban areas (especially in “megacities” such as Los Angeles, New York, and London). “If we ignore these developments, we will be pushed out of important segments of the business.”

The concepts on which Airbus is currently working are more like short-range, electrically powered helicopters. Closer to a toy drone. With electrically-driven ducted fans, they could be quiet enough to hop across city centres. Airbus claims they will be as cheap to use as a taxi. Thanks to the savings that come with the ride-sharing culture.

There is another plan of creating an airborne delivery service. In this plan, the delivery companies like Amazon and DHL will be the customers. Airbus is planning to build drones and the architecture to fly them efficiently.

Airbus is doing all it can to use the latest autonomous and AI technology to give people the experience to fly in cars. The company believes that the use of technology can minimize the risk of explosions mid-air.

Airbus’s has said its concept for a CityAirbus vehicle, which passengers would walk to the nearest helipad to board, could become reality without too many regulatory changes.

Airbus is taking our dreams and making it fly in the sky. Being an aeronautical company, it will now be up to the company to make this a reality.

Flying Car