Larry Page is keeping active with other technologies besides Google. He also has a strong interest in flying cars. Meet his electric flying taxi project, “Cora.”
Essentially, Cora is an air taxi that is intended to be used as an integrated part of a greater mobility network and won’t focus on more traditional sales to individuals.
Cora is an autonomous vehicle (AV) and is meant to be used as a self-flying aircraft. Its self-flying software controls 12 lift fans to hop from rooftops to rooftops. Simply fly more or less straight to your destination while avoiding the streets.
Cora was created by Kitty Hawk, run by former Google X head Sebastian Thrun and named after the town in North Carolina where the Wright brothers completed their first controlled flight.
The Cora’s performance is not too shabby either, and perhaps strikes the best overall balance we’ve seen so far. It is designed for two and only uses a single propeller for speeds of up to about 110 MPH. It can fly between 500 and 3,000 feet with its 36-foot wingspan (11 m). Initially, the Cora will reach 62 miles (100 km) at a speed of 110 MPH (180 km/h).
Cora will take take to the skies in 2021 and act as an ‘Uber for the skies’, according to Kitty Hawk, the company behind the electric vertical take off and landing vehicle.
Built with funding from Page, the craft is designed to use self-flying software, which controls its 12 fans to provide lift-off and forward thrust – without the need for a runway.
New Zealand’s government is officially announcing an agreement to test the vehicles in the country. The firm hopes to use New Zealand as its base of operations for testing out the next generation of vehicles to push the envelope of aviation technology.