Aerotaxi - mobility and speed of movement
Airbus, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers, is working hard on the air taxi project. A team of specialists is developing electric multi-rotor vehicles with vertical take-off and landing for ease of movement in a crowded metropolis. It is planned that such a taxi will have a built-in autopilot and will be able to move from one roof to another without problems and traffic jams.
This model has already been presented to the public at the Paris Air Show. There is every chance that the company will begin production of Vahana air taxi in 2020. With the help of such transport it will be possible to fly to a distance of 100 km. Who knows, maybe Vahana is a revolution in urban aviation. This concept is not new, something similar is being developed at Uber and Google. The use of artificial intelligence and a progressive approach to the use of alternative forms of energy inevitably brings us closer to the revolution in urban aviation. The essence of such transport aviation - a taxi will be available at the request of the customer, and the presence of a large fleet will make flights relatively affordable.
The forecasts of some experts are not so optimistic. Despite the millions of companies' investments, this direction may not justify the hopes and costs of investors. The cause of the failure of the project may be a political barrier, because the development of safety rules and reliability requirements for air taxi depend on the authorities. Also, the opinion of potential users is important in this matter. A survey in the United States showed that most of the respondents are very concerned about flight safety and expressed a desire to equip a flying car with a built-in parachute.