Autonomous flight

When we hear about VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, we usually think of passenger-carrying "air taxis." The autonomous Nuuva, however, is being designed to give cargo-carrying helicopters a run for their money.

Autopilot has been around longer than you think – the first daredevil public demos happened back in 1914. But today's airliners still need pilots, and Airbus has only recently completed testing on the first autonomous taxi, takeoff and landing system.

So far, much of the development focus of China's EHang has been on providing air taxi and air tourism services, but now the air mobility company has launched a firefighting version of its two-person multi-rotor flying pod.

Airbus Helicopters' VSR700 unmanned aerial system (UAS) prototype has flown autonomously for the first time. At a drone test center near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, the pilotless rotorcraft performed a 10-minute free flight.

The first aerial showdown between a human fighter pilot and an autonomous aircraft is slated for July 2021, according to a fascinating interview with the outgoing Director of the US Department of Defense's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC).

EHang has achieved another important milestone in its effort to make its passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicles a common sight in the skies. The CCAC has granted permission for the air taxis to be used for heavy-lift logistics.

EHang has joined forces with LN Holdings to bring air tourism to the latter's hotels. One of the first projects to emerge from the new collaboration will make the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha the first hotel to offer air tourism services to its guests.

Back in January, China's EHang aced the first flight in the US of its two-seat autonomous air taxi. Now the company has agreed to develop the first Urban Air Mobility pilot program in Seville, Spain.

Earlier this month, Ehang took to the air with its Autonomous Aerial Vehicle for the first flight in the US. Specs on the 216 two-passenger pilotless air taxi were scant at the time, but let's take a closer look now.

Ehang's Autonomous Aerial Vehicle – a multi-rotor drone capable of carrying people – made its first US appearance at CES 2016, and now the company has demonstrated the first flight in the US of its two-seater autonomous air taxi.

Hyundai has used the grand platform of CES 2020 to unveil its take on the future of urban mobility. At the heart of its plans is its S-A1, an electric flying taxi developed with Uber.

There is no shortage of aviation startups out to build self-flying aircraft from the ground up, but California-based Skyryse has adopted a slightly different approach, with flight technologies designed to be fitted to existing helicopters.