Urban transportation took a big step toward efficiency and sustainability with a drone-taxi flight through air traffic with one pilot and one passenger.
The maiden flight took place outside of Paris from Pontoise-Cormeilles airfield with an electric helicopter made by Volocopter, a German company that has been working on electric aviation for more than a decade.
Volocopter's test air-taxi, dubbed "VoloCity," has eight rotors and looks like a large drone.
With traffic congestion and smog becoming major problems for most cities around the world, electric flying taxis are a hopeful solution for the future of smart cities and urban planning.
According to INRIX, a company that analyzes global traffic data, billions of dollars are lost annually due to traffic congestion. Drone-taxis would help to reduce traffic jams, and because drone-taxis are completely electric, they could also aid in less pollution for cities with poor air quality.
In a press release, Valérie Pécresse, president of the Paris Region, called the development of low-altitude aviation in cities "an adventure full of promises — for employment, for the environment and for the lives of Paris Region residents."
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Despite heavy competition from the likes of Airbus and Joby Aviation, as well as several other companies entering the market, Volocopter expects to become a leader in the air-taxi industry. It is working closely with Aeroports de Paris and U.K. company Skyports Ltd. to create a fully integrated network to support the urban air mobility (UAM) industry to include air-taxi airports known as vertiports.
Volocopter said it expects to have completely automated passenger-only flights ready by the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Paris, and the company will soon be heading to the skies over Singapore.
In a recent press release, Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke highlighted the company's approach.
"Together, we will succeed in providing an additional emission-free transport option for the public," he said. "Every test is one step closer to commercialization in time for 2024."
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