Skip to main content

Volocopter to launch air taxi infrastructure for cities within ten years

Volocopter has unveiled its vision for an air taxi infrastructure for cities which it claims could integrate into transportation systems and provide mobility for up to 10,000 passengers per day. The company expects the technology to be available within the next ten years. The firm says that the electrically-powered aircraft are emission-free and take off and land vertically to maintain safety. Volocopters are based on drone technology and can carry two people over distances of 27km. For the infrastructu
April 27, 2018 Read time: 1 min

8772 Volocopter has unveiled its vision for an air taxi infrastructure for cities which it claims could integrate into transportation systems and provide mobility for up to 10,000 passengers per day. The company expects the technology to be available within the next ten years.

The firm says that the electrically-powered aircraft are emission-free and take off and land vertically to maintain safety. Volocopters are based on drone technology and can carry two people over distances of 27km.

For the infrastructure, the firm proposes that areas it calls ‘Volo-Hubs’ could allow the air taxis to land and take off every 30 seconds. Once inside, battery packs will be exchanged automatically in a protected area by robots before moving on to the section where passengers embark for take-off. In addition, the hubs could offer space to park all Volocopters in operation.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hikvision’s wind/solar solution offers ‘off grid’ vision
    August 20, 2019
    Getting vision tech to ‘off-grid’ areas is a challenge - but Hikvision has come up with an answer in China, while also handling some rather more conventional smart cities work in Germany
  • SafeRide: it’s time to act on cyberattacks
    May 10, 2019
    Cyber threats are increasing rapidly and conventional security measures are unable to keep up. Ben Spencer talks to SafeRide’s Gil Reiter about what OEMs can do now As more vehicles become connected, so the potential threats to their security increase. Gil Reiter, vice president of product management for security firm SafeRide, says the biggest ‘attack surface’ for connected cars is their internet connectivity - and the in-vehicle applications that use the internet connection. “The most vulnerable co
  • Trends in automotive technology
    March 14, 2012
    Continental has become a leading player in vehicle technology and telematics. The firm’s executive board chairman Elmar Degenhart describes to Jason Barnes Continental’s views on the ‘megatrends’ of the automotive industry Strategic moves to diversify Continental’s business from rubber-related products began in the late 1990s with the acquisition of ITT Teves and its brake business. This brought on board know-how relating to the then new electronic stability control (ESC) systems which today form an import
  • Truck platooning: the evidence is complex
    February 6, 2020
    A number of claims are made for the value of truck platooning. David Crawford looks at the figures from a new set of examples which suggest that the situation is more complex than you might think