Did you knowSHIFT is taking the stage this fall?
But today, flying cars arent all cars.
Instead, they diverge into a range of wildly different designs.
But, it can be confusing as people often use the same names interchangeably.
You might also hear it called aerial ridesharing.
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However, plenty of people use air taxis as an umbrella term for all thats to come.
Companies making them include Volocopter, Lilium (pictured above), and Joby.
These are also called passenger drones.
These can also beused to carry cargo.
These are more for fun, as opposed to urban travel.
Sounds like serious fun to me.
eVTOL aircraft and federal regulation
Anything more technically ambitious has a far more complicated process.
It announced the arrival of flying taxis and ambulances by 2026.
The agency recently publishedguidelines for the design verification of drones.
Volocopter was the first company to havedesign approval in June.
The FAA evaluates concept of operations for each aircraft.
They then stipulate what certification standards to use.
Theres a whole lot of hurdles, each of which takes a lot of time.
Design differences in eVTOL aircraft
All eVTOLs use distributedelectricpropulsion.
This allows the use of fixed wings and multiple propulsors.
Most offerings use six to eight propulsor fans.
By comparison, Lilium uses distributed propulsion, with36 small electric ducted fansembedded in the wing and forward canard.
Looking to dig deeper into the different companies?
Take a look at the folks competing for airspace.
Flying cars
Ok, to be clear, thereareflying cars actual vehicles that can driveandfly.
Examples include theAeromobilandPal-V Liberty.
The latter is halfgyroscope,half car.
And yes, you need a license for driving and flying.
Aermobil claims you will be able to shift from car to plane in only three minutes!
But what they do share is a commitment to personalized, on-demand passenger flights.
Wholl get there first is up in the air.
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Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
