Drones to flying taxis, the future of traffic is in the air.

Tags: Electric Vehicle ,  Product Design ,  Engineering | Read Time: 5 Minutes | Published on: 26 Mar 2024

Back in the day pigeons were used to relay messages between individuals as the sky was the fastest and safest passage at the time. It seems like the sky is going to be the future of transportation of packages, and people as well. With the constantly increasing population, there is an urgent need to find solutions for the traffic and the hours individuals waste stuck in them. With constantly advancing technology, there is hope for a more systematic and efficient system to come into place. 

There are several reasons why the world is looking to the skies for solutions. With individuals migrating to cities constantly, the population, and the number of vehicles on the roads are also increasing. Reconstructing roads to be broader in these densely populated cities is impossible, making flying cars crucial. Furthermore, reaching remote places is often a challenge for individuals, comprised of long travel hours on poorly constructed roads with no medical assistance available if necessary in case of accidents. Having a flying car would make it much easier to access these locations and even deliver packages. Similarly, in the case of natural catastrophes, flying cars and drones could be used to drop off care packages, and medicines, and even be used to rescue individuals. 

The e-commerce and automotive industries are two industries that are researching and developing this technology. The automotive industry is working on vertical take-off and landing technology that is more suitable for urban settings, eliminating the need for runways for take-off. Making flying cars energy-efficient and silent is another requirement that must be fulfilled. There is a need to make all drones and cars autonomous as well as create technology through which all of them can communicate and work independently. 

While the flying car dream seems near, many individuals are skeptical about its success. Several hurdles will have to be crossed, the first being- governments and countries will have to lay down specific air traffic rules and regulations and invest in infrastructure for building parking and charging stations. The second hurdle will essentially be regarding safety issues and weather, as extensive testing by manufacturers will be required for passengers to trust these autonomous vehicles. Several emergencies will have to be thought through to ensure complete safety and fewer fatalities and the drones and cars will have to be able to work under any circumstances. The third hurdle would be that there might come a point where traffic will shift to the air and authorities will have to look for ways to mitigate that.

This technology if implemented has the opportunity to solve several problems of the urban world. While this may not be possible for the next few years, it is the future and individuals must capitalize on the chance to invest it in today.