thk
It has been a long wait no more.
Towerman
Outstanding, The working product is in place, we need to start and train pilots for these vehicles now already and get this implemented into everyday life right now !
Gregg Eshelman
Looks like they've gotten thEhang of the human carrying multicopter.
J.B
So many different configurations; I think I saw 4, 6 & 8 rotor sets. And all presented as one flight. Is this real news?
CarolynFarstrider
Let;s hope the engineering of the devices is less messy than the grounds of the area where it was developed, launched and landed.
Paulinator
Someone is going to develop a more efficient large-diameter, single-rotor device that is driven by a reliable turbine engine and supplied with any of a variety of carbon-neutral, high energy-density and safely stored bio-fuels.
...and they'll call it a helicopter.
Grumpyrelic
The imagination covers of of 1950s Popular Mechanics and other magazines is now a reality 65 years later. Much safer than a single rotor helicopter and smoother. (We have had 2 fatal chopper crashes in Canada in the last year) Some people may think that a grubby grounds location reflects on the quality of the product but the Wright brothers flew from a sand pile.
Lardo
I will never understand the fascination with autonomous vehicles. Why people are so eager to trust life & limb to computers (which I guess never fail... right?) is beyond me.
Not to mention they're freely - and willingly - surrendering a portion of their own freedom, in the process.
Bruce H. Anderson
No doubt this is cool, but please don't talk about "overcoming pollution" as one of the selling points. This is an energy hog, it is just displacing pollution elsewhere, and a LOT more at that. An electric bus or van is a better choice for the inner city. And they don't require heliports.
Grumpyrelic
Does an autonomous vehicle limit your freedoms? DUI does not exist for them. The old man who lost his license can still "drive" his car or "fly" his plane. Running red lights, speeding tickets, street racing and slowpokes would be a thing of the past. Insurance rates would go down and would no longer be dependent on the "driver". No need to produce a license to police. Perhaps the definition of "freedom" should be revisited. The "freedom" to carry a gun and go down the street and shoot people is not a freedom. It is a dereliction of responsibility. Doing this removes the deceased's freedom and right to live. Should one have the right to drive drunk and the freedom to run people over? I think not.