The chairman of Ford has expressed interest in flying cars, although he adds that the manufacturer isn’t developing the technology right now and thinks such vehicles need to be fully autonomous to be safe.
Cars with flying capabilities have been a hot topic in recent months thanks to reveals of concepts such as the Pop.Up shown by Airbus at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.
This particular concept is a fully autonomous pod which can connect to a giant set of drone rotors to create what it calls the world’s first driverless flying car. Furthermore, the city of Dubai is set to trial autonomous aerial vehicles from this summer.
Ford’s chairman, Bill Ford, recently attended the tech and media-focused South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas and was asked if Ford had any plans for flying cars. While he confirmed Ford won’t be working on the technology, he did express interest but emphasised that control of such vehicles shouldn’t be entrusted with drivers. He suggested most wouldn’t have the required skill to use them manually.
He said: “We’re not [working on flying vehicles], but it’s not so crazy. Although I would say they had better be autonomous. Most people can’t drive two dimensions. let alone three.
“There are entrepreneurs who are working on flying vehicles. I haven’t been in one, but seen a test of one. And they are technically going to be very possible.”
