With motorbikes, tricycles, and vehicles out of the way, the next transportation you will be hailing or booking through an app would be flying taxi. This is because Boeing has announced plans to collaborate with Kitty Hawks to make this possible.
Boeing says its collaboration is aimed at advancing air mobility which will usher-in a disruption in the aviation industry like the one experienced by ground transportation companies. While there’s no much information about the extent at which work has gone, Boeing wants to transform the way people, goods and ideas will be transported in the future.
With this new phase of technology development, Boeing has shown that plane crashes and global ban of one of its most sought after aircraft models will slow its growth.
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Reacting to the partnership and the potentials to achieve the disruption, the Vice President and General Manager of Boeing NeXt, Steve Nordlund, said the undisclosed deal brings both companies (i.e., Boeing and Kitty Hawk) closer to their aim of advancing plane mobility.
“Working with a company like Kitty Hawk brings us closer to our goal of safely advancing the future of mobility. We have a shared vision of how people, goods, and ideas will be transported in the future, as well as the safety and regulatory ecosystem that will underpin that transportation.”
The flying taxi called Cora is powered by electric, without the need for fuel consumption. It is an autonomous flying taxi that has reportedly performed well over the past year during tests in New Zealand.
The Cora reportedly flies at speeds of roughly 110 miles per hour at altitudes anywhere from 500 to 3,000 feet. It is not yet known when it will be ready for public use. Considering how electric cars are gradually taking centre, Cora might just be close by. However, it will have to go through regulatory approval for approval.
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The brain behind Cora: Sebastian Thrun is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kitty Hawk. Thrun is also one of the founders behind Google X, an American semi-secret research and development facility and organization founded by Google in January 2010. It is famous for the development of Google’s self-driving car.
While speaking about the Kitty Hawk impact in the aviation sector and partnership with Boeing, Thrun said, “Kitty Hawk was started to advance technology in flight and bring new innovations to life. I am excited about our companies working together to accelerate making safe electric flight a reality.”
Thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Boeing to bring together the innovation of Kitty Hawk's Cora division with Boeing’s scale and aerospace expertise. https://t.co/rDGHyOlpqn
— Kittyhawk (@kittyhawkcorp) June 25, 2019
Note: The Cora is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) taxi. It will be used as air transportation and not transforming from a vehicle to a plane.
