It is no secret that Tencent’s Databoy Airbus is developing unmanned flying taxis. Airbus’s dream is one step closer to reality. MTSI and SOAR Oregon have already signed contracts with Airbus. They will test single-seat unmanned flying taxis. Taxis can carry goods and they can also transport passengers.
At the beginning of the year, Airbus disclosed the flight taxi plan, which was led by the A3 department. At the time, Airbus stated that it was prepared to fly a full-scale prototype by the end of 2017 and sell it before 2020.
SOAR Oregon is an economic development agency with three test sites in Oregon, located in Pendleton, Warm Springs, and Tillamook. SOAR Oregon decided to test a taxi at one of its testing sites. MTSI (Modern Technology Solutions) said in a statement that it has signed a contract with Airbus that covers the start-up phase of the project.
The test is mainly conducted by MTSI and SOAR Oregon will provide support in mileage testing. Paul Linnell, MTSI's director of civil and commercial affairs, said: "The MTSI team is proud to be the leader of the Vahana project (Airbus Flight Taxi program code) flight test. Vahana seeks partners in the industry and asks Partners have extensive experience in flight testing and can provide unmanned flight mileage testing services to support the development of this innovative project. They find MTSI and SOAR Oregon the most suitable.†In addition to the business market, MTSI also provides to the defense industry, intelligence community Engineering Technology Solutions.
The Vahana project started at the beginning of the year. It is one of the first projects of the A3 team. A3 is Airbus’ new department established in Silicon Valley. A3 CEO Rodin Lyasoff said: “In the Vahana project, we are passionate about personal flying. The aircraft we developed does not require a runway, it is completely self-drive, and it can automatically detect and avoid obstacles and other aircraft. At the time of design, Vahana can carry one passenger or place cargo. Our goal is to make it the first certified drone passenger aircraft."
The concept rendering shows that the air taxis can take off and land vertically, the wings can be tilted, and each wing is equipped with four electric motors. The plane can only take one passenger and the top canopy.
In August of this year, Airbus revealed the Flying Taxi Program. Its name is CityAirbus. Passengers can use a smartphone to call a taxi. Airbus believes that the biggest challenge in developing the CityAirbus taxi is to let it fly automatically. From the very beginning, the taxi requires the driver to operate, and if the regulatory agency approves, the driverless function can be enabled.
The project leader, Lesov, said: "Many technologies exist, such as batteries, engines, and avionics." Similar technologies have just appeared in automobiles. As for aircraft, there are no such products. Lesotho said: "This is one of the biggest challenges. We want to resolve it as soon as possible."
Airbus believes that flying taxis can be used as "group vehicles," similar to car sharing. Lesov said: “We believe that the global demand for this type of flying tool is very large and we can deploy millions of vehicles around the world. In less than 10 years, we can bring products to market and travel to countless people in cities. Make a revolutionary impact."
Sounds a bit like a science fiction novel, Airbus CEO Tom Anderson (Tom Enders) believes that one day we will see flying cars in big cities. This dream is not crazy. He also said: "In the not-too-distant future, we can take out a smart phone and reserve a fully-flight taxi. It will stop at the door and there will be no pilots."
In February, Airbus also announced a new project called Skyways, which aims to establish a drone package delivery system at the Singapore campus. Airbus hopes to prove the safety of the system through Skyways, thereby changing the regulatory requirements of unmanned aerial vehicles, and allowing more people to accept manned flight tests.
Source: dailymail
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