This year seems to be the year of more milestones in automated innovations. Aside from the autonomous cars to hit the public highways, the Airbus Group has hinted on its plan to test the prototype of its self-driving "flying car" by the end of this year.
Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders made the stunning announcement regarding its "flying car" at the DLD digital tech conference in Munich. The CEO spoke with the reporters present at the DLD conference, explaining that the urban transport has been going underground for the past hundred year. Enders continued by saying things have changed as they now have the technology to rise above the ground and pursue their dream, AutoExpress reported.
Enders further expressed their commitment to complete the project. The CEO mentioned that although they are still in the experimental stage, he also emphasized that they are taking "this development very seriously."
Moreover, the CEO said that the project will be beneficial in the long run as the city will no longer need to spend billions on infrastructure and road widening. It seems that the group has found a solution for the heavy congested traffic down the road as they will now launch a small autonomous flying car.
#Airbus’s engineers are looking into the #Wing of the #Future: https://t.co/0AslFaFXLU pic.twitter.com/hOgDDCy0Xb
— Airbus Group (@AirbusGroup) January 16, 2017
Meanwhile, the publication also noted that the Airbus Group has established a division named Urban Air Mobility last year. This division was given the task to explore on the possibility of developing an air transportation service linked to a smartphone application. The project aims to create the "new on-demand" in the automotive industry.
The Urban Air Mobility came up with a concept of a vehicle, in the form of a helicopter, which has the capacity to transport groups of people around various cities. The project was spearheaded by A3, which is the Silicon Valley outpost. Titled "Vahana," the project refers to a flying automotive platform that is self-piloted and is aimed to transport cargo and passengers.
In another report, the pilot test of the flying car of the Airbus Group will most likely transpire in Oregon. Geekwire noted that Airbus' A3 is partnering with Modern Technology Solutions and SOAR Oregon in resolving potential technical issues that the project Vahana will encounter. It was also mentioned that the pilot test will be conducted at a SOAR Oregon test range.
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