SUGAR LAND, Texas — Since 2010, the company Wisk has been working towards developing a first-of-its-kind pilotless air taxi.
The company's goal is to have short-term flights, and they want to provide that service to the Greater Houston area. Wisk is working with the City of Sugar Land to make this a reality.
“We think about going from Sugar Land to Bush, you know, in about 10 minutes, connecting some key areas from airports to business centers, recreational centers,” said Emilien Marchand, the director of ecosystem partnerships at Wisk. “So, it's about adding a new sustainable mode of transport to support mobility in the region.”
Sugar Land’s city manager said they’re excited to partner on a new concept that just might change the way we travel.
“Sugar Land is a great place to start in the Houston region because we want to be a city where innovation is second nature, where creativity is encouraged and where change is embraced. We couldn’t ask for a better partner than Wisk Aero to join us on this journey,” said City Manager Michael W. Goodrum in a press release.
The company is looking for a location within Sugar Land Regional Airport to develop what they call a vertiport. This would serve as a loading station for the flights.
“Have the ability to host passengers to get on these flights, and have the ability to charge these aircraft," said Marchand. "You know, the aircraft we're building is fully electric."
From there, they hope to expand, allowing people to take off from different places without the traffic.
“We often hear about The Jetsons, that this still feels like far out into the future, but it's coming much earlier than one might think,” said Marchand.
None of the flights have been tested with people, but the goal is to get two to four people in one at a time and get it officially up and running by the year 2030.