Travelling in a driverless air taxi itself sounds very exciting and thrilling. And now, in a stunning new concept, these air taxis can even whisk tourists to enjoy a luxury dining experience on 100 feet eco-towers overlooking the wilderness of Italy. This idea is a result of a collaboration between an unmanned aircraft company, EHang Holdings, and architects at the Rome-based Giancarlo Zema Design Group. According to an article on Mail Online, each of the towers which have been given an unofficial name for now as ‘vertiports’ will allow the driverless aircraft to land vertically on their roofs. The towers will be powered by green energy and hence, will be environment-friendly.
The flying taxis will take tourists or visitors on a scenic flight back to their nearby hotels after they consume the meal and capture the panoramic views.
Informing about the inspiration behind the unique design of the vertiport towers, the designers said that the towers have been inspired by the Baobab, which is a long-lived tree native to Africa. The designers further said that a combination of laminated wood and steel will be used to construct the tower.
There will be a cafe, a waiting room and a 2,153 square foot panoramic restaurant inside each of the towers. Also, visitors will be able to access the panoramic restaurant only using a central lift. Non-slip solar panels will be fitted at the roof terrace on top of each vertiport. These non-slip solar panels will be capable of generating more than 300 kilowatts of power every day and will also supply the energy required to charge the flying taxis.
The designers refer to the flying taxis as EH216 passenger autonomous aerial vehicles. Describing the vehicle, designers said that each of the taxis is built like an oversized commercial drone and has eight dual rotors surrounding the central passenger cockpit.
However, it is different from the traditional helicopters as it does not need passengers to pilot and navigate them and instead use point-to-point direct flight which makes them safer and more efficient.
Also, no announcement has been made yet regarding the exact location where the Italian vertiport will be constructed.