Mobility: IIT-Madras to launch air-taxi that can beat hellish traffic snarls

With an aim to get rid of traffic jams and blaring horns, the Aerospace Engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras is working on an air taxi. Sources said that the air taxi, designed to carry five-kg materials within 100-km radius would be introduced in July. The developers of the mobility technology is awaiting a nod for test-run from the Airports Authority of India.

Chennai: The Aerospace Engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has designed an air taxi that will travel across the skies far above the road traffic snarls, faster than the road taxis.

Revealing that efforts are underway to launch the plane for public use within five years, sources in IIT-Madras said in July this year, the air taxi, designed to carry five-kg materials within 100-km radius would be introduced in July. The developers of the mobility technology is awaiting a nod for test-run from the Airports Authority of India.

Prof. Sathya Narayana Chakravarthy of the Aerospace Engineering department said, "On behalf of the Aerospace Engineering department of the IIT-Madras, drones have already been designed to operate on electric batteries. Now, we have designed small-sized taxi in the form of a plane that will use only a limited amount of electricity to operate."

"We plan to introduce a small e-plane taxi of five kg payload capacity. This vehicle can be used to transport vital human organs for transplant surgeries without experiencing the hard and hellish road traffic. Consequently, through the air taxis of 50-kg payload capacity, essential medicine such as vaccine and equipment can be transported."

The e-plane taxi operating on battery has been designed in such a way that it will take off, fly and finally touch down safely, carrying a pilot and a commuter. No runway is needed for the operation of this air taxi which can take off and land on the terraces, streets and roads.

Set to fly at the speed of 200 km per hour, the air taxi with a fully charged battery can travel upto 200 km at one go. Sensors are fitted on the vehicle to avert colliding with trees and concrete buildings. Plans are afoot to make the air taxi double up as an air ambulance to carry patients in critical condition without any road traffic hassles.

The air taxi can cover 10-km distance within 10 minutes and reach the destination faster than the road taxis do. But the fare for traveling in the air-taxi is one-and-a-half times the cost of ordinary road traffic travel.

"The more popular this mode of travel becomes, the less costly it will become," added Prof. Sathya Narayana Chakravarthy.