Thanks, I will look out for more updates here on HN.
This kind of vehicle has fascinated me for years. Seems like they'll be the transportation mode of the future, and that fully self-driving commuter aircraft will come before their ground-based counterparts, since the sky is a much simpler realm than the ground. The main challenge seems to be safety / reliability. Turbulence dampening, emergency landing in a variety of terrain, automatic ground-obstacle avoidance and communication with other aircraft (and that requires near-perfect cybersecurity).
We are obviously thinking about that. VTOL capability makes our aircraft a bit more safe - it can literally land anywhere but water. And there’s probably a way to make it float two.
But! Air is not an easier environment, it’s just different. With lot’s of limitation, both natural and regulation. My good friend is developing an automation suite for small aircraft and he’s dampened my optimism significantly! But still, It is the way to go, it’s just not as easy as it might seem.
It’s a sweet spot. Large enough to be useful, small enough to have reasonable refuelling times.