eVTOL

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.

Although we've heard about several proposed passenger-carrying eVTOL (electric vertical take off and landing) aircraft, many are still in the conceptual stage. Such is not the case with the Alia, though, which we're told is making daily test flights.

A Palo Alto startup has popped up out of stealth mode to lay another eVTOL air taxi design on the growing pile. Archer proposes a transitioning, winged, battery-powered aircraft, and its team includes senior talent from Vahana, Wisk and Joby Aviation.

After months in lockdown, Wisk has announced it's back in the air, continuing flight testing of its autonomous two-seat Cora eVTOL aircraft at locations in New Zealand and the United States, as it prepares for certification and commercial flights.

Larry Page and Sebastian Thrun's personal flying carpet project has been grounded, as the Kitty Hawk company turns its attention to a larger, faster, longer range aircraft with better commercial potential in the emerging eVTOL air taxi market.

A California company says its new "turbo air-cooled" fuel cell design can deliver three times the power and four times the lifespan of a regular fuel cell, opening the door for high-speed, long-range, hydrogen-powered electric VTOL aircraft.

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.

Electric VTOL air taxis are one of the great emerging technologies of our time, and there are a ton of companies hoping to be early to market with a fast, safe, comfortable eVTOL aircraft for 3D commuting. Here's a roundup of the key players.

Brazilian eVTOL innovator EmbraerX has put forth a fun video showing how a multi-mode 3D transport system might work, with an eVTOL air taxi carrying a detachable glassed-over cabin that it delivers straight onto a self-driving car chassis.

Something about this just looks so wrong. The Atlas is a manned multicopter design, in which all four of its ducted rotors are inline along a single wing. Targeted for sale in 2021 at around US$150k, this tailsitter might have some advantages.

Japan's SkyDrive has completed four months of manned eVTOL flights and, with a new CTO on board, says it's on track for an eVTOL product launch in 2023.

This eVTOL air taxi design looks like a weird helicopter/plane hybrid, but it's the safest of all the eVTOL designs we've ever seen, and it has another killer advantage in that it requires no special certification. Very cool news for 3D commuting.