Forget Google pod-cars, Apple cars and Teslas with autopilot. Airbus Industries, the European passenger airliner maker, says they are working on autonomous flying taxis that people can call with their cellphones, small aircraft that fly themselves and land and take off vertically. The artist's conception makes them look like giant 'drones' with something like a car body and four lift-fans at the corners.
http://www.cnet.com/news/forget-self-dri...ying-taxi/
It seems to me that the technology for autonomous aircraft is probably more advanced than the technology for autonomous cars. The military has been using 'drones' for some time, and in the air there is less danger of collisions than there is on the road. Landing will be a problem since the aircraft will have to identify safe landing spots. They will also have to avoid hitting buildings in urban environments.
http://www.cnet.com/news/forget-self-dri...ying-taxi/
It seems to me that the technology for autonomous aircraft is probably more advanced than the technology for autonomous cars. The military has been using 'drones' for some time, and in the air there is less danger of collisions than there is on the road. Landing will be a problem since the aircraft will have to identify safe landing spots. They will also have to avoid hitting buildings in urban environments.