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Featured Image Credit: PA WIRE/Urban-Air Port
A mini-airport site in Coventry will showcase a ‘flying taxi’ alongside cargo drones over the next month.
Billed as ‘the starting gun for a new age of transport’, the Air-One site is giving punters a chance to get up close and personal with a life-sized air taxi model.
Unfortunately, there’ll be no whizzing around the countryside Futurama-style, because Urban-Air Port’s air taxis have yet to receive government approval, but nevertheless, it’ll certainly be a sight to behold.
Cargo drone demonstrations will also take place over the next few weeks and the high-tech vehicles are billed as being the size of two double beds.
Air-One hopes the technology on show will one day be used to transport people and goods across the country.
West Midlands Police’s drones team will also be showcasing equipment at the event, which hopes to demonstrate how ‘advanced air mobility can cut congestion and air pollution and support a zero-carbon future’.
Insp Mark Colwell told the BBC: "Drones offer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to enhance our force operations and ensure we can provide the best crime prevention service to the public."
Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban-Air Port, added: "The opening of Air-One is a momentous moment - the starting gun for a new age of transport, an age of zero-emission, congestion-free travel between and within cities.
"The way that we see the future is to see hundreds of urban airports of multiple shapes and sizes in such dense locations where there's a need for additional supportive layers of transportation."
Interested parties can try and bag tickets by visiting the company's website, and it’s also worth noting the expo is likely to be extended past its initial month-long run.
Last year, it was reported the project had been given a £1.2 million government grant that was also matched by Hyundai.
Of the car company’s financial injection, Pamela Cohn, chief operating officer for the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group, said: "As we advance our eVTOL aircraft programme, development of supporting infrastructure is imperative.
"Air-One is a unique project that is set to help lead the way in developing a robust, accessible and intermodal infrastructure network for future mobility.
"We are excited to be part of this partnership in the UK and look forward to working together to create community impact and opportunity through safe, affordable and human-centred mobility solutions."
Topics: Technology, UK News
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