Autonomous Flying Car to be Tested by End of 2017, Says Airbus

Airbus is planning to test autonomous flying car by the end of the year- a move that could be a big step towards easing congestion on inner-city roads.
Cities are growing and traffic will get worse. As a way of reducing traffic on urban roads, Airbus Group, one of the world’s biggest aerospace companies, is developing a few solutions to urban congestion and one of them is a single person flying vehicle.
The aircraft giant Aircraft, which is second in size only to Boeing, intends to test a small flying vehicle and the prototype would be ready by the end of 2017, chief executive, Tom Enders announced at a technology conference in Germany on Monday.
The CEO Tom Enders spoke about Airbus’ projects in Munich at the Digital Life Design conference where he said he hopes the company will demonstrate a self-piloted personal aircraft by this year’s end. During his keynote speech, Enders reminded that urban transport had gone underground one hundred years before and the new technology would send it above ground. He added that with flying, pouring billions into concrete bridges and roads would not be needed.
Enders noted that Airbus is investing in driverless technologies and artificial intelligence and is planning to develop a fleet of flying cars.
Last year, the aircraft giant formed a division called Urban Air Mobility, dedicated to less-conventional vehicle concepts, such as vehicles to transport individuals or helicopter-style vehicle that can carry multiple riders. The self-piloted personal aircraft is being explored in Project Vahana, part of the company’s Urban Air Mobility initiative. The aim of Vahana is to build the world’s first certified, commercial passenger aircraft with no pilot.
In the not so distant future, people will be able to book the autonomous flying car using a car-sharing application.