Company type | Division of The Boeing Company |
---|---|
Industry | Aviation |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Per Beith |
Products | E. g. Boeing PAV, CAV, Cora by Wisk |
Parent | Boeing |
Boeing NeXt was a division of aerospace manufacturer Boeing, exploring urban air mobility. Its portfolio includes a passenger air vehicle (PAV), a cargo air vehicle (CAV) and other urban, regional and global mobility platforms. [1]
By September 2020, Boeing was to close its Boeing NeXt division, in response to financial losses in the wake of the 737 MAX groundings and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation. [2]
To test on-demand autonomous air transport, Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences designed and developed in one year an electric VTOL Passenger Air Vehicle prototype. It made its first flight on January 22, 2019, in Manassas, Virginia, hovering before further tests and a transition to forward flight.[ citation needed ]
The Cora by Wisk is an autonomous personal air vehicle prototype developed by Wisk Aero LLC (Cooperation of the Kitty Hawk Corporation and Boeing). [3]
Boeing and Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche, Porsche Engineering Services GmbH and F.A. Porsche decided October 2019 to work together to design a personal air vehicle prototype. [4] [5]
The unmanned, fully electric cargo air vehicle (CAV), transporting up to 500 lb (230 kg), was flying indoor in 2018 before outdoor flights in 2019. [1]
Beside the application development of electrically powered aircraft, NeXT develops concepts in the field of civil supersonic and hypersonic aircraft. [6] [7]
The air taxi market is an application of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) – air transportation systems that utilize advanced technologies such as vertical takeoffs, autonomous capabilities, or fully-electric systems – for short to mid range on-demand flights. Many AAM vehicles are designed for Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) or Vertical Takeoff and Landings (VTOL); electric VTOL aircraft are also prominent, known as eVTOLs.
A personal air vehicle (PAV) is a proposed class of passenger aircraft providing on-demand air transport.
Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. is a company based in Guangzhou, China that develops and manufactures autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) and passenger AAVs which have entered service in China for aerial cinematography, photography, emergency response, and survey missions.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.
Kitty Hawk Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric ultralight aircraft.
The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH. A seven-seat production version is planned.
The Airbus CityAirbus is a multinational project by Airbus Helicopters to produce an electrically powered VTOL personal air vehicle demonstrator. It is intended for the air taxi role, to avoid ground traffic congestion.
The Airbus Vahana was an electric-powered eight-propeller VTOL personal air vehicle prototype financed by A³, by Airbus and Airbus Urban Mobility. The Vahana project started in 2016 as one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley. Airbus "envision[s] Vahana being used by everyday commuters as a cost-comparable replacement for short-range urban transportation like cars or trains". It was planned to be a part of urban air mobility. The project was finished in December 2019.
Volocopter GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal and founded by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf. The company specializes in the design of electric multirotor helicopters in the form of personal air vehicles, designed for air taxi use. The CEO is Dirk Hoke and chairman Stefan Klocke.
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft.
Beta Technologies, is a South Burlington, Vermont-based aerospace manufacturer developing electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) and electric conventional take-off and landing (eCTOL) aircraft for the cargo, medical passenger, and military aviation industries. The company has also developed a network of chargers which can supply power to their aircraft and other electric vehicles. Training programs for future electric aircraft pilots and maintainers are also provided.
The Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) is an American electrical powered autonomous personal air vehicle prototype developed by the Boeing NeXt division of Boeing with the assistance of Aurora Flight Sciences.
The Boeing Cargo Air Vehicle is an unmanned, autonomously flying, fully electric cargo air vehicle (CAV). It was made possible by an investment of Boeing HorizonX Ventures.
An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about thanks to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for urban air mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.
The Wisk Cora, also known as Generation 4 and Generation 5, is an American autonomous personal air vehicle prototype previously developed by the Kitty Hawk Corporation, and subsequently by Wisk Aero.
The VoloRegion is an electrically powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically (eVTOL). It is being developed by the German company Volocopter.
Archer Aviation Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, California, which is developing eVTOL aircraft.
Wisk Aero is an aerospace manufacturer based in Mountain View, California, United States. The company develops self-flying electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to be operated as air taxis. The company was formed in 2019 as a partnership between Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk aircraft company.
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is an air transport system.
The VoloCity is an electrically powered aircraft that can fly autonomously and take off and land vertically. It is produced by the German manufacturer Volocopter and is its first series model.