Not Your Father’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

April 12, 2017

Tired of traffic? Time for a flying car!

In the sea of news about drones and autonomous vehicles, aircraft manufacturer Airbus is doing its part to advance the science fiction narrative with the release of a flying car concept.

The autonomous vehicle, Project Vahana, is designed to address the problems of modern-day urban transport. Vahana is similar to a helicopter in that it is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle, not requiring a runway. Now in prototype, Vahana is expected to be ready for short-haul trips by 2021.

Here's where things get even more interesting: The aircraft is designed to not only hold multiple people, but also work with other aircrafts to form a network that can be summoned, like a sky-based taxi service, notes TechCrunch.com. What's more, the capsule-based design of the aircraft can connect to either ground or air conveyance modules, letting customers specify their preferred mode of transit.

About the Author

Beth Stackpole, contributing writer

Contributing Editor, Automation World

Beth Stackpole is a veteran journalist covering the intersection of business and technology, from the early days of personal computing to the modern era of digital transformation. As a contributing editor to Automation World, Beth's coverage traverses a range of industries and technologies, including AI/machine learning, analytics, automation hardware and software, cloud, security, edge computing, and supply chain. In addition to her high-tech and business journalism work, Beth writes an array of custom editorial content and thought leadership pieces.