Project Vahana

We live in a time where Level 5 autonomous cars are close to becoming a reality, and more than one company is working towards bringing humans to Mars. Consider all this, it’s almost surprising that flying cars haven’t taken to the skies yet. But it turns out we may not have to wait too long: Airbus is planning to test a prototype, not only for a flying car but an autonomous flying car.

“One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders at the DLD digital tech conference in Munich.

As reported previously, the project, dubbed Project Vahana, aims to transport people in a helicopter-style, autonomous vehicle capable of shuttling several riders. The technology is aiming to give motorists and commuters an option to avoid the increasingly congested roads by simply booking a spot on the airborne taxi. Think Uber but for the skies – but also with a serious push to invest in autonomous driving technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to make self-driving, flying vehicles possibles.

The world’s largest commercial maker of helicopters also assures that they are making sure to employ clean technology in the development of this vehicle so that it doesn’t aggravate pollution in urban areas. They also point out that it will help lower cost of infrastructure development since cities won’t have to invest in expensive construction for roads and bridges.