Flying cars? The 7 companies working on the technology in real-life that you need to know: Uber, Larry Page, Lillium and more
Forget driverless cars, it’s all about flying cars now.
Autonomous vehicles may not even have officially hit the roads yet, but already experts are working on far more ambitious plans.
Get ready for take off: here are the seven companies working on creating actual, real-life, Jetsons-style flying cars.
Uber
Apparently disrupting taxis and food delivery, as well as creating its own driverless cars are just not enough for the billion-dollar startup.
It revealed last year that it’s working on technology called VTOL – that’s vertical take off and landing – one type of technology that is the essence of creating a flying car.
In February, it hired a heavyweight from Nasa to work on the technology and it has now revealed ambitious plans to create a flying car network by 2010. Read more.
Larry Page and Kitty Hawk
The Google founder is backing a Silicon Valley startup called Kitty Hawk, which has just revealed its first prototype.
The “all-electric vehicle” will fly over water and driver’s won’t need a pilot’s license. It hopes to get it on sale to consumers by the end of the year.
Anyone wanting to sit back and relax won’t want to go for this one – it’s more like a flying motorbike than a car.
Lilium
The first glimpse of the Lilium jet is impressive. It’s the first to nail the VTOL technology that lets it take off like a helicopter but fly like a plane. Read more about it here.
Aeromobil
Another startup close to take off, Aeromobil showed off its latest design and started taking pre-orders for those dreaming of the skies. This car can drive on the road like any other cars but then takes of like a plane. Find out more.
Terrafugia
This firm has been working on flying cars since 2006.
It’s already flown a prototype that has fold down wings to get it from sky to road, back in 2014.
But, it has ambitious plans for a much sleeker version it estimates will coe to market in 2025.
Ehang
China’s Ehang has shown off a drone-style pod that it hopes will be a taxi for the skies.
It’s currently testing the tech over Nevada in the US. Read more.
Airbus
One of the rare established companies to be working on flying technology, Airbus is working on its own prototype to keep with the newer upstarts. It plans to get it out by the end of the year. Read more.
Here’s what they’re envisioning…