The future of Hyundai air taxis

The world’s third-largest carmaker, Hyundai of South Korea, didn’t miss the opportunity either, and instead of cars, it also has a definite vision of something completely different, like Toyota. How Hyundai envisions the future is cited as an example by San Francisco as the veterinary horse of the metropolises. California’s rich population and population, which is growing in population, is buzzing with its buzz: aging infrastructure, constant traffic jams, commuters spending a lot of time commuting between their workplaces and homes, poor air, visibility, and access to public spaces. getting worse. According to the South Korean carmaker, smart transport solutions can rise above metropolitan problems, revitalize crackling-crunching urban structures – and one of the main tools for this could be the merging of road and air transport.

But what does this mean when translated into ordinary language? All that is being done, Hyundai is also developing an air taxi, and a scale model of the eVTOL vehicle, which is still in its infancy, has been unveiled. The S-A1 will be an electric multi-rotor, take-off aircraft that will allow four people to travel in addition to the pilot. Hyundai says it’s important that the rotors will be electrically powered so the S-A1 will be quiet inside and out. The machine will be lifted into the air by eight rotors, four of which can be rotated to a horizontal position to move forward.

The 100 percent electric, tilt-rotor aircraft, which currently exists only on the design table, will be able to fly at speeds of 290 km / h, in the altitude zones of 300 and 600 meters, with a range of 100 kilometers. The aircraft recharges its batteries in seven minutes, rises helicopter-like on take-off, and reaches its destination by rotating the four main rotors like an airplane. Initially, pilots will drive Hyundai air taxis, but the long-term plan is to achieve fully autonomous, unmanned operation.

Hyundai’s vision – Urban Air Mobility (UAM) – says air and ground traffic will be coordinated using S-Hub and S-Link systems. Behind the two fantasy names, one must imagine a futuristic, neuronal-like building type with a roof that functions as a landing site for S-A1 electric air taxis, while self-guided electric capsule vehicles can dock on the ground floor. The boundaries between home and mobility are blurring, as these pods can also serve as a residence, and Hyundai even imagines that restaurants, shops, and doctor’s offices will be in such specialized vehicles capable of continuous relocation. As everything will be connected by artificial intelligence, the vehicles will be able to move in clusters with the help of data received from each other, and even be able to charge each other on the go if necessary. Hyundai intends to continue to develop and commission the air taxi as soon as possible after Uber’s exit.