The country is famous for its highways and comfortable vehicles wants to reach a new technological level. The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, approved a draft Urban Air Mobility, in which Audi and Airbus SE are going to be held in the German city of Ingolstadt testing flying taxi, reports Bloomberg. The ultimate goal is to pave the beginning of a new transport era.
“Flying taxi is no longer fiction. They will allow us to reach a new level of measurement and mobility. They will open a huge opportunity for established companies and new startups who are already engaged in the development of this technology and achieve some success,” — said the head of the Ministry of transport of Germany Andreas Scheuer.
The technology of flying cars is actually much closer to reality than many may think. Held in March this year the Geneva motor show, Audi and Airbus presented a new concept ultralight compact car Pop.up Next, created in collaboration with Italdesign. The prototype is designed for two people. The feature of novelty, if not to take into account the futuristic look is connectivity system of the drone, which turns him into a flying transport.
The cabin prototype is equipped with a huge 49-inch display acting as the instrument panel, and the system of informing of passengers. All control of the vehicle rests with the Autonomous system, able to perceive gestures and voice commands.
Member of the Board of Directors of Audi and President of Italdesign bird Martins described the concept Pop.Up Next as “ambitious opinion, capable of forever changing our urban life in the future.”
CEO of Audi Bram Shot commented that testing of the concept will be a new challenge for “upward mobility” and added that “in the future, such concepts as the Pop.Up Next, will allow fast and cheap enough to move people in cities, while reducing the number of ground traffic”.
The overall complexity will definitely make sweat even the best engineers working on this project. Nevertheless, the movement towards the next phase of implementation can not but rejoice.
It should also be noted that compact vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing, though not offering a modular design, and develop other companies. It is, for example, the Chinese company EHang and their concept of a flying taxi 184, Uber with their concept Elevate, as well as Airbus and its own development Vahana.
In Germany tests a flying taxi
Nikolai Khizhnyak