Boeing earlier this week announced it had successfully flown an aircraft that will never compete with the airlines, but may be an alternative to a slow taxi: an ‘autonomous passenger air vehicle’ that could function as a robot taxi.
Boeing NeXt, a division that’s looking at urban air mobility worked with other Boeing divisions to create the electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and will continue a long path of testing and modification.
So far, the vehicle has shown it can do that take-off and landing part. The next step, considered the most critical and difficult, is the transition from vertical to horizontal flight. The prototype is designed for fully autonomous flights, with a range of about 50 miles.
