Audi's autonomous flying car could take off after support from home city
Still more pre-flight checks to go, though.
AUDI and Airbus’ flying car programme is now one step closer to properly taking off, after the city of Ingolstadt announced its support for the project.
As stated in a new letter of intent signed by the Ingolstadt’s mayor, Dr. Christian Lösel, the primary goal now is to bring forth “a model for air-taxi test operation in the Ingolstadt region”.
The letter of intent was co-signed by representatives from Audi and Airbus, as well as Germany’s minister for transport Andreas Scheuer.
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Being a letter of intent, the announcement doesn’t automatically pave the way for the testing of autonomous flying car technology. However, it does bring the project one step closer to fruition – with Ingolstadt seemingly eager to position itself as the prime hub for autonomous vehicle development.
The explicit reference in the accompanying statement to the Pop.Up Next autonomous taxi concept also heavily suggests a vehicle along those lines could soon be tested in the skies surrounding the Bavarian capital.
Despite flying cars being a long way from mass-market commercial viability, the industry has been picking up the pace as of late. Uber and NASA also began development of autonomous flying taxis in late 2017, and the Larry Page-backed flying car firm Kitty Hawk will soon bring its first customer vehicle to market.
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