IIT Madras Incubated Firm To Make Flying Taxis A Reality In India

As the world moves towards development day by day, many new vehicle services are emerging to solve the traffic woes of citizens. As part of this, flying vehicles are also being developed for faster commute within cities similar to road taxis.

Recently, an IIT-Madras incubated startup - 'The Plane Company' has developed these indigenously made flying taxis. Those are designed to enable urban travelers to reach their destinations in less time.

These flying taxis can travel up to 10 times faster than regular taxis. In the same way, one can travel safely in these without any traffic problems. These battery-powered flying taxis have a payload capacity of 200 kg and can carry up to two passengers at a time.

Powered by lithium-ion batteries, these taxis can fly at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and they can fly at a height of 0.5 kilometers to 2 kilometers. It can travel a total of 200 km on a single charge.

The brainchild of aerospace engineering professor Satya Chakravarthy, the co-founder and CTO of the company, said the company's prototype will be able to make about 10 to 20 trips with full charging. He added, "It costs 1.5 to 2 times more than a regular taxi. However, you can reach your destination faster without any traffic problems. With our taxi, you can travel 10 kilometers in just 10 minutes, which reduces travel time by 10 times."

Started by Professor Chakravarty in association with an IIT (M) graduate Pranjal Mehta, the company opines that initially, it will cost more to travel using flying taxis. They also said that the increase in the number of taxis is likely to reduce the cost a little. In the future, these fares will be similar to other app-based taxi services.

Professor Chakravarty said the existing aviation laws would facilitate the licensing of flying taxis, which would soon increase the demand for them in the domestic market. However, the aviation department has already given clearance for the use of these flying taxis.

Currently, flying taxis are limited to two seats. They will soon be capable of three or four seats. At the same time, the company plans to not only transport passengers to their destinations but also provide cargo delivery services. Flying taxis of different shapes and sizes are already available for urban or regional connectivity in developed countries such as the United States and Germany. These are used not only to transport passengers but also for goods delivery.