Airbus to launch unmanned flying taxi next year

Airbus, the second largest airline in the US, has revealed plans to launch an artificial intelligence-controlled flying taxi service by the end of 2017.

Self-driving taxis could help ease traffic congestion in crowded cities. Photo: Airbus.

Airbus is developing autonomous flying taxis powered by artificial intelligence, Cnet reported. The airline aims to launch the project in 2017 because it believes all the technology involved, including batteries, motors, and avionics, is already available, according to Rodin Lyasoff, Airbus's project manager.

Instead of opting for a self-driving car, passengers can book a seat on a drone called zenHop. To operate the vehicle, Airbus plans to build dedicated airports called zenHubs.

From these airports, passengers can fly to their desired destination for a price comparable to using a ride-sharing service like Uber. To reduce the weight of flights, customers' luggage will be transported separately using a service called zenLuggage. In addition, the company has developed another service called zenCyber ​​to keep customers' information safe.

A key goal of the project is to ease traffic congestion caused by population growth in cities around the world. Like self-driving car technology, which is still being tested, one of the hurdles to overcome before flying taxis can be introduced is developing sensor technology that allows the vehicles to avoid buildings. “That’s a big challenge that we’re looking to solve as soon as possible,” Lyasoff said.

According to VNE