Millions of people have used the Uber ride-hailing service and continue to do so on a regular basis. The billion dollar corporation has been in operation since 2009 and now operates in over 60 countries and more than 500 cities worldwide. Now take that flexibility and times it by about ten and you get the next venture Airbus is looking to fly into with their flying single-passenger vehicles that will be able to transport both people and parcels flawlessly through the city.
This will be a pretty impressive venture if it does go ahead. The vehicles have been in the design phase since February this year and will be capable of being hailed using a smartphone app, similar to that of Uber. Then, the autonomous flying vehicle will use its battery powered motor to fly to its customer, pick them up and take them to their destination in style. Operating in a similar to fashion to that of a helicopter these vehicles will be able to take off and land vertically while flying along specialized aerial routes.
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Airbus is using their CityAirbus technology to begin trials of the flying taxi idea late 2017 above the National University of Singapore. Jorg Muller, the member of Airbus’ corporate development department, stated, “The market will develop quickly, once we are able to deploy the first vehicles in megacities and to demonstrate the benefits of quiet, emission-free air transport at competitive prices.” There are of course arguments against the idea, mainly in the name of security. Recent hacking attacks involving United Airlines still have people concerned about flying. But, there is still a long way to go before the technology is available to mainstream and could even be another ten years before we see these types of vehicles flying around our streets.
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