Larry Page isn't the only one trying to make 'flying cars' a reality
An early patent of Zee.Aero'scraft.US Patent and Trademark Office
A "flying car" prototype developed by Zee.Aero, the company Google co-founder Larry Page has been funding, was spotted in the wild last week, according to a report Monday in the Monterey Herald.
Witnesses in Hollister, California reportedly saw the vertical take-off plane hover about 25 feet above the ground, land, and then hover again. Many are referring to planes of this nature as flying cars because of their ability to take off vertically, which allows them to be stowed in driveways.
Zee.Aero isn't the only company interested in vertical take-off planes — here are 5 others.
1. German company eVolo wants to make its multicopter the future of urban mobility. Called the Volocopter, it has 18 rotors and can fit two people.
The final version of the Volocopter will be able to reach 62 miles per hour. It has 130 independent computers onboard that could allow it to fly autonomously later on.
2. Airbus is developing a vertical take-off plane under its Silicon Valley arm A³ as part of its Project Vahana. The aircraft will be autonomous and can carry a single passenger or cargo.
A³ CEO Rodin Lyasoff said in a Medium post that it will fly a full-size prototype before the end of 2017 and have a "productizable demonstrator" by 2020. You can see a rendering of the Project Vahana aircraft above, which Airbus has said will be used for commercial or personal use.
Airbus is also designing a flying taxi system, named CityAirbus, that would have multiple propellers and resemble a small drone. Multiple people would be able to book a ride on the flying taxi system via an app.
Airbus wrote on its website that the CityAirbus taxi would first be operated by a pilot, but that a fully autonomous version would be released once regulations are in place. However, the flying taxi wouldn't land and pick you up from wherever. You would have to go to the "nearest helipad" for a lift after booking a seat.
3. Chinese drone company EHang is working to get its giant, taxi drone in the air as soon as federal regulations will allow it. It can carry 220 pounds, cruise at 62 mph, and fly over 11,000 feet.
The EHang is another Uber-like system in that passengers would enter their desired location and the drone would then fly on its own.
A prototype of the EHang has been tested in China, but the company is still working to get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin flying in the US.
4. Terrafugia is building a car that can take off, fly, and land autonomously — but you would still have to drive it manually.
The plug-in hybrid has a range of 500 miles, and it can take off vertically so you don't need to be on a runway for lift off.
Passengers can simply enter their desired location and it will fly on its own. The company has said a production version will be ready by 2025.
5. Uber is interested in using small planes that can vertically take off for short-haul trips within cities.
Uber's head of products Jeff Holden recently told Recode that a commercial aircraft could be viable within a decade.
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