Investment in autonomous vehicle technology entered overdrive in 2016, and 2017 is gearing up for more of the same.
In the last six months of 2016, the first public self-driving taxi service hit Singapore roads, courtesy of NuTonomy, while Uber followed suit a month later in Pittsburgh. The question of self-driving cars becoming a reality on roads around the world is no longer an “if,” it’s a big fat “when.”
Amidst all the hullabaloo over driverless automobiles, another transportation revolution is gaining momentum. Flying cars have been at the center of fantastical future visions in science fiction for decades. But despite the best efforts by Star Wars, Blade Runner, Back to the Future, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to cajole engineers into making fantasy a reality, it has never quite happened.
However, things are changing.
Earlier this week, aerospace giant Airbus confirmed that it plans to test a prototype of a self-piloted flying car by the end of the year, with the ultimate aim of circumventing the growing gridlock on city roads. Airbus CEO Tom Enders said of the plans: “One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground; now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground. We are in an experimentation phase; we take this development very seriously.”
With flying, you don’t need to pour billions into concrete bridges and roads.
The company didn’t commit to any figures for its investment, or the ins and outs of what the planned demonstration will entail, but the company’s efforts to bring personal flying vehicles to skylines is in line with efforts we’re seeing elsewhere.
Last month, fledgling startup Lilium Aviation announced a €10 million ($10.7 million) funding round from Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström’s Atomico for a jet with vertical take-off and landing. While it’s not strictly a “car,” insofar as it doesn’t have wheels, it shares a similar mission to that of Airbus by seeking to alleviate gridlock — “everyone can fly anywhere, anytime,” the company proclaims.
“Our cities are heading for perpetual gridlock, choked by an ever-growing number of cars — 1.2 billion today, rising to an estimated 2 billion by 2035,” a Lilium spokesperson said at the time.
Pricing for the Lilium jet remains a mystery for now, but it will fit two passengers and will have an estimated cruising velocity of 250 to 300 km/h (160 to 190 mph), and a range of around 300 km (190 miles).
The Lilium jet remains a prototype for now, but the company has previously committed to flight testing in early 2017, ahead of commercial production. Lilium has also declared that it expects many businesses to emerge as a result of such vehicles, including air taxi and ride-sharing services.
Airbus and Lilium are just two of the latest companies to join the race to…