During the Intel keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show at the Park Theater in Las Vegas, German Air Taxi company Volocopter today announced that it has taken Intel CEO Brian Krzanich as the very first passenger of a Volocopter. “That was fantastic. That was the best flight I have ever had. Everybody will fly one of these someday.” said Krzanich after completing the flight. “Autonomous Air Taxis are coming. Nothing shows our confidence better than taking a passenger aboard. We are happy it was Brian Krzanich of our strategic partner Intel” says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter, “Although the Volocopter might resemble a Helicopter, it really is a flying super computer creating a pleasant and safe ride.” The flight was remotely piloted and took place in an exhibition hall in Germany in December 2017. The Volocopter features very stable and safe flight characteristics, designed for operating as autonomous air taxis in megacities. Volocopter leverages Intel technology including flight control solutions with redundancy and safety features. The smooth flight is enabled by dozens of microprocessors monitoring the environment for turbulences, winds, etc. and sending signals in milliseconds to the rotors. These can react and perform the slightest adjustments instantly due to their battery powered electric motors. “From when we performed our first manned flight in 2011, we knew that safety is what we are really offering,” says Alex Zosel, co-founder of Volocopter. Volocopter has already received a permit-to-fly in Germany, flies regularly, and has conducted autonomous test flights in Dubai.
