Autonomous air taxi

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Airbus A3 Vahana
The first passenger drone: Ehang 184
Volocopter 2X

An autonomous flying taxi (also known as a passenger drone ) is a flying taxi that can transport passengers without the use of a human pilot. Its use in urban agglomerations is currently (2019) being discussed primarily in the context of the urban air mobility concept . To enable autonomous flight, this aircraft has a large number of sensors, the data of which are converted by computers into commands for flight control.

The first publicly known autonomous air taxi was presented by Chinese entrepreneurs with the Ehang 184 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016.

history

Remote-controlled model airplanes have been a popular hobby since the 1970s. Drones, especially electrically powered multi-rotor model aircraft, became popular in the early 2000s. Drones differ from model airplanes in that they have a certain degree of autonomy.

After being deployed for the first time in the Second World War, the number of military-specific drones and their missions increased significantly at the end of the 20th / beginning of the 21st century. Military drones were used extensively in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan , among others .

Since then, designers have contributed numerous radical ideas and developments for passenger flights. These include the rocket backpack introduced in the 1960s , the Aeromobil aircraft concept from the early 1990s and the Terrafugia aircraft concept from 2006. Although these are controlled by the pilot and are therefore not technically considered to be drones, they still serve as inspiring precursors passenger drones developed today. As of 2011, several developers have made short manned flights on experimental multi-rotor electric aircraft.

developments

future

The future of autonomous flying taxis is still uncertain as this technology is still very new. Innovations in drone technology and in air traffic coordination and control as well as collision avoidance could lead to a rapid spread for civilian passenger transport. Several companies are investigating use as air taxis and for air ambulance services. Developers are working to overcome many challenges, including noise, low payload , short flight times, airspace regulations, and the lack of data on safety and general operations. Another major technical limitation is the limited energy density of the drive batteries , even with today's lithium-ion accumulators .

literature

  • Flying Cars, Air Taxis, and Personal Drones. In: Dronenmagazin , No. 3/2017, pp. 46–49
  • H. Grossbongardt: In the air taxi over the traffic jam. In: AERO International , No. 6/2017, pp. 48–51
  • Rainer W. During: Passenger drones in the final sprint. In: FliegerRevue , No. 10/2019, p. 23
  • Dave Unwin: Taxi! It's Always Quicker by Air. In: AIR International , No. 6/2020, pp. 36–39

Individual evidence

  1. ^ First passenger drone makes its debut at CES , The Associated Press. Retrieved February 24, 2016. 
  2. ↑ World's first passenger drone unveiled at CES . Retrieved June 16, 2016. 
  3. ^ T Priestley: Flying Cars, JetPacks, And Passenger Drones - Which One Will Rule The Skies? , Forbes. Retrieved February 24, 2016. 
  4. ↑ Four Quadrocopter propel a real live human into aviation history (video) . November 2, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ Ed Darack: Are Dubai's Drone Taxis For Real? (en) . In: Air & Space Magazine . Retrieved March 29, 2017.