Author | Tania AlonsoFlying vehicles could be one of the main solutions for relieving traffic congestion in cities. And they are, therefore, a very important element to bear in mind when designing and planning cities.Numerous aeronautical and automobile companies are testing flying vehicles. Most of these, with the aim of offering urban public transport services, such as taxis. Cities like Mexico City or São Paulo already have examples, which are available to its citizens.
How will the taxi of the future work?
[embed]https://youtu.be/FpaYoF12Rnk[/embed]Boeing’s transport model for the future of cities is an electric autonomous passenger vehicle. It is an electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft, designed for fully autonomous unmanned flights from take-off to landing and has an expected range of around 80 km.Last January, the protype made its first flight in Manassas (Virginia, USA). It managed to take off, hover and land. A test that lasted just under one minute, which allowed the autonomous functions of the vehicle and ground control systems to be verified.Future flights will test forward, wing-borne flights. And then, the transition phase between vertical and horizontal flight modes. Which, according to the company, is typically the most significant engineering challenge for any high-speed VTOL aircraft.Pop.Up Next and other Airbus prototypes
The Airbus Helicopters VSR700 demonstrator also successfully completed the fully autonomous and unmanned flight tests. Last December it took off from the airbase in Istres, in the south France, and performed a 30-minute flight.Another of the aeronautical company’s prototypes is Pop.Up Next, developed in collaboration with Audi and Italdesign. It is a flying taxi that combines a self-driving electric car with an unmanned passenger drone.
The impact on cities
