Aircraft

AirSpaceX's autonomous, electric air taxi lands in Detroit

AirSpaceX's autonomous, electric air taxi lands in Detroit
Mobi-One is designed to ease traffic congestion and speed up urban commutes
Mobi-One is designed to ease traffic congestion and speed up urban commutes
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A scale version of Mobi-One
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A scale version of Mobi-One
Mobi-One is designed to ease traffic congestion and speed up urban commutes
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Mobi-One is designed to ease traffic congestion and speed up urban commutes
Mobi-One with wings tilted for takeoff or landing
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Mobi-One with wings tilted for takeoff or landing
Mobi-One in horizontal flight mode
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Mobi-One in horizontal flight mode
Mobi-One is powered by four electric motors
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Mobi-One is powered by four electric motors
Mobi-One has an autonomous flight system
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Mobi-One has an autonomous flight system
Mobi-One is designed to carry up to four passengers
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Mobi-One is designed to carry up to four passengers
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
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AirSpaceX shows off its Mobi-One model at the North American International Auto Show
View gallery - 16 images

Airspace Experience Technologies, LLC (AirSpaceX) has given a preview of its vision for the future of air taxi services at this year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The company unveiled a sub-scale model of its vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, Mobi-One, an autonomous, tilt-wing electric aircraft designed to carry both passengers and cargo at speeds of up to 250 mph (400 km/h).

According to AirSpaceX, US$300 billion dollars in fuel and productivity costs a year are wasted in traffic jams and other delays in the United States alone. Additionally, urban drivers spend 42 hours stuck in traffic each year, while pumping 38 billion pounds (17 billion kg) of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Designed and built by AirSpaceX parent compant Detroit Aircraft Corporation (DAC) at Detroit City Airport, Mobi-One is targeted at the point-to-point commuter market as a clean, quiet alternative to road transport that relies on "lean automotive design and mass production techniques" to be affordable to produce.

Mobi-One uses four wing-mounted electric motors that the maker claims makes the aircraft quieter than a helicopter. It's designed to carry two to four passengers or payloads of over 200 kg (440 lb) at a cruising speed of 150 mph (241 km/h) over a range of 65 mi (104 km).

A scale version of Mobi-One
A scale version of Mobi-One

Along with its pilot assisted/autonomous flight avionics, it also has broadband connectivity for high speed internet access, V2X collision avoidance, and safety messaging. Aside from passenger and cargo services, it can also be used for medical and casualty evacuation; tactical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); and research flights.

The Mobi-One was developed in cooperation with Camilo Pardo, who was the chief designer of the 2005 and 2006 Ford GT. Completion of the aircraft's engineering packages are still the primary focus, but the hope is that a full-scale version of the craft will soon be available for US FAA certification.

"Our goal is to deploy 2,500 aircraft at the nation's 50 largest cities by 2026, targeting existing infrastructure at first," says JP Yorro, Chief Commercial Officer at AirSpaceX. "The MOBi development program will be capital intensive, but air Mobility as a Service could generate billions for the economy. We are considering a broad array of financing options, including potential fractional ownership interest and profit sharing models."

Source: AirSpaceX

View gallery - 16 images
6 comments
6 comments
riczero-b
Looks like a well thought out option with power-out glide capability. Perhaps take off would best be done sideways to reduce wind resistance, then turning at speed into translation to winged plane.
Bruce H. Anderson
"Point-to-point" and "existing infrastructure" might sound good, but the devil is in the details. It would be interesting to see a detailed plan for one (just one) major metro to nail down the infrastructure and the points. It would be interesting to see how capital intensive it becomes.
MarcinBuglewicz
sounds good, but then we will encounter air traffic, high probability of crashes and "grounders" danger and probably way higher money loss of recreating infrastructure to make it all work. but good luck to spaceX
Towerman
"but then we will encounter air traffic, high probability of crashes and "grounders" danger "
I'd rather deal with air congestion than the 1d ground congestion we have with vehicles. Ir vehicles can be spaced with much more freedom than ground vehicles in addition there will be not traffic lights, so no accidents due to it either.
Towerman
"meant Air vehicles can be spaced not Ir"
john75
I'd feel better about this if they weren't trying to make people think they are SpaceX