Israeli start-up tests its flying taxi as a means to get to hospital in an emergency

By Reuters Published on 15/09/2023 - 18:20•Updated 18:41 Share this articleShare this articleFacebookTwitterFlipboardSendRedditMessengerLinkedinVKCopy/paste the article video embed link below:Copied

As well as getting a patient across town to hospital in an emergency, the flying taxi's sister drone could be used to deliver urgent medical supplies.

Need a taxi to hospital or an urgent delivery of medical supplies? An Israeli company demonstrated that its Electric Vertical Takeoff And Landing (Evtol), which comes in various sizes, can be a solution in such scenarios.

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The company on Tuesday turned a car park at Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karm hospital into a temporary helipad. In one test, a big eVTOL designed to carry one person took off and flew above Jerusalem before returning to land. 

A smaller eVTOL then carried a box, similar to one that would carry medical supplies.

Yoeli Or, founder and CEO of Cando, the company developing the eVTOLs , told Reuters that the drone is capable of carrying up to 250 kg and flying a distance of about 30 km.

• XPeng’s new electric air taxi can whisk you over traffic jams at up to 130 km/h

Potential of air mobility

Companies across the globe have so far been unable to find the key to monetising the potential of air mobility, whether for delivering goods and for human travelers.

As authorities contemplate the best safety and traffic regulations, no flying taxi maker, whether Germany's Lilium or American player Joby, has received certification so far.

A broader trust challenge looms too, with many flying taxi makers pushing back their dates for commercial launch as they struggle to bring their projects to fruition.

According to McKinsey data, funding for eVTOL projects declined from around $1.2 billion (€1.1 billion) during the first half of 2022 to $710 million (€665 million) during the same period this year.

For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.

Video editor • Roselyne Min

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