The leading European aeronautical company Airbus has designed, developed and begun testing a brand new means of public transportation – a car which can turn into a VTOL and go pilotless. The so-called Vahana Project, a spokesman of the company has said, is mainly intended as a taxi vehicle.
It comes equipped with tilt rotors which should ensure excellent maneuverability and enable it to perform vertical takeoff and landing. During the tests, it rose 5 meters (16 ft.) in the air and landed slightly less than a minute later.
Users will need to use a mobile app to summon an air taxi. Once on board, the vehicle will automatically assess the current air traffic situation and choose the best path.
CityAirbus, another project by Airbus, is dedicated to fighting traffic problems in large cities by introducing advanced self-driving urban transportation tech,
Airbus hopes to launch mass production of its Vahana Project vehicles in two years.
Photo: Vahana.aero