French aerospace firm has announced the completion of the first successful test flight of its Vahana autonomous flying taxi.
The electric drone, a full-scale prototype dubbed Alpha One, ascended and descended without a back-up pilot on board, and achieved “a modest height of five meters”, The Verge reports.
Although the flying taxi was in the air for only 53 seconds, the test is a step towards the company’s “ultimate goal” - to “build an autonomous passenger drone network” that will function similarly to a ride-hailing service, says Engadget.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Airbus expects to launch a production-ready version of the Vahana drone by 2020, The Verge adds, after further extensive testing.
Several tech companies are currently developing pilot-less transport vehicles and systems.
Ride-hailing service Uber launched its Elevate programme, which also aims to offer short taxi rides by air, in 2016. The firm plans to open flying-taxi terminals in Dubai, Los Angeles and Dallas.
In November, Uber announced a partnership with Nasa to create an air traffic control-like system that allows flying cars to travel safely over city skylines at low altitude.
-
How cybercriminals are hacking into the heart of the US economySpeed Read Ransomware attacks have become a global epidemic, with more than $18.6bn paid in ransoms in 2020
-
Language-learning apps speak the right lingo for UK subscribersSpeed Read Locked-down Brits turn to online lessons as a new hobby and way to upskill
-
Brexit-hobbled Britain ‘still tech powerhouse of Europe’Speed Read New research shows that UK start-ups have won more funding than France and Germany combined over past year
-
Playing Cupid during Covid: Tinder reveals Britain’s top chat-up lines of the yearSpeed Read Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Dominic Cummings among most talked-about celebs on the dating app
-
Brits sending one less email a day would cut carbon emissions by 16,000 tonnesSpeed Read UK research suggests unnecessary online chatter increases climate change
-
Reach for the Moon: Nokia and Nasa to build 4G lunar networkSpeed Read Deal is part of the US space agency’s plan to establish human settlements on the lunar surface
-
iPhone 12 launch: what we learned from the Apple ‘Hi, Speed’ eventSpeed Read Tech giant unveils new 5G smartphone line-up
-
Russian agency behind US election meddling ‘created fake left-wing news site’Speed Read Facebook says real reporters were hired by fake editors to write about US corruption
