China unveil driverless flying car and it already has everyone worried
Welcome to the world of tomorrow.
While we're not quite in the realm of Blade Runner with flying vehicles taking over our city skylines, we seem to be getting closer to it with every day.
Now, Chinese car manufacturer Chery has shown off its driverless flying car to the world. The prototype has the snappy name of 'Land and Air Vehicle,' which isn't quite as marketable as something like Cybertruck.
This flying machine was showcased at 2024's Chery Global Innovation Conference in Anhui, China, and it's become quite the hot topic. Coming without a steering wheel or accelerator, the Land and Air Vehicle has fully autonomous driving capabilities. Chery hopes to strengthen its position in the automotive industry.
There are three parts to the Land and Air Vehicle, boasting the aircraft, intelligent cockpit, and the intelligent chassis. The general idea is that it can switch between the autonomous flying and autonomous driving modes with ease, and although only designed for short-distance travel, it should reduce traffic congestion in urban areas. When in flying mode, it can take off and land vertically.
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Chery's vehicle is designed for two people, has a flight altitude below 1000 m, boasts a maximum flight speed of 120 km/h, and a flight time of around 40 minutes.
Chery assures us that it's completed a successful 80 km test flight, although it's clear many of you still aren't sold. When the idea was shared to Reddit, safety-conscious drivers pointed out a ton of potential problems.
One concerned fan wrote: "When civilians start flying around, we are going to see some spectacular crashes. Some smoking grease spots. Most people can’t even seem to handle driving a car."
Someone else grumbled: "We don’t need flying cars. If a battery dies, engine stalls, or even a fender bender can result in fiery crashes..."
Others were open to the idea, with someone concluding: "If they can synchronize 1000 drones to dance and do a visually stunning show, they can program these things to not crash into each other even at super fast speeds.
Us, the passengers, on the other hand, will not be ready for the experience sitting inside one of the flying cannon balls."
We've already seen Uber Copter become a regular feature in the likes of New York, so it's not like the idea of taking to the skies during your morning commute isn't there. There's also Joby's electric air taxis that are growing in popularity, but just imagine sitting in the typical traffic jam and then soaring above everyone else in your own fancy flying car.
It's likely there are still some kinks to be ironed out, and even if we're a long way from trading our standard car in for a flying version, the potential is definitely there.