It isn't only cars on the road that are moving rapidly towards self-driving status — aircraft are heading that way too.
Wisk Aero, a joint venture between the Boeing Company and Kitty Hawk Corporation, has unveiled its sixth-generation air taxi, which, it said, is “the most advanced in the world”.
The self-flying taxi represents the first candidate for US Federal Aviation Administration certification of an autonomous, passenger-carrying electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi.
“In 2010, we set out to find a way to skip traffic and get to our destination faster,” said Gary Gysin, chief executive of Wisk.
“That inspiration evolved into a mission to deliver safe, everyday flight for everyone. Over the past 12 years, we have pursued that mission through the development of five different generations of full-scale aircraft."
The company said it is using the same proven technology that accounts for more than 93 per cent of automated pilot functions on today’s commercial flights.
Its air taxi, which has a cruising speed of 222 kilometres an hour, has a range of 144km with reserves and flies at an altitude of 762 metres to about 1,220 metres, with space for four people plus baggage.
Along with its decision-making software, it will require “multi-vehicle supervisors”, who provide human oversight and can intervene when required.
Wisk said the new air taxi has an “automotive-like” interior to provide comfort for passengers and the likes of Wi-Fi and charging will be available.
The aircraft has been designed with a price target of $3 per passenger, per mile.
“Through a multifaceted approach — including autonomous flight with human oversight, a simplified design with fewer moving parts, fully redundant systems, and no single point of failure — Wisk’s aircraft is being designed to exceed today’s rigorous aviation safety standards of a one-in-a-billion chance of an accident,” Wisk said.
Billions of dollars worth of investment has been poured into the eVTOL sector, as companies race to be the first commercial success amid the push for lower carbon emissions.
Joby Aviation was the leading company in the eVTOL industry as of 2021, with $1.6 billion in investments, according to Statista.
An eVTOL flying car display is set to be one of the star attractions at next week's Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) in Dubai.
XPeng — a technology company and electric vehicle manufacturer that designs, develops, manufactures and markets intelligent mobility solutions — has produced the two-seater eVTOL X2 flying car with the support of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, its official partner.
The X2 is equipped with an intelligent flight control system and autonomous flight capabilities and is the latest generation of flying cars developed independently by XPeng’s affiliate XPeng Aeroht.
In June, electric aircraft company Eve Holding, owned by Brazilian plane maker Embraer, and UAE-based charter flight operator Falcon Aviation Services signed a letter of intent for up to 35 flying taxis.
With deliveries of the aircraft expected to start in 2026, the partnership will introduce the first eVTOL tourist flights from Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai.
A joint venture by Virgin Atlantic Airways and UK start-up Vertical Aerospace was planning to trial a flying taxi service at Heathrow Airport earlier this year.
Last year, Airbus revealed a modified design for a fully-electric four-seat “flying taxi” with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail and eight electrically powered propellers for quieter flights over cities as part of its push for sustainable urban air mobility.
The European aerospace company said it aims to fly a prototype of its CityAirbus NextGen in 2023 and obtain certification by 2025.
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
RESULT
Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City: Jesus (9')
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
