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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.