{"id":11101,"date":"2016-09-10T11:34:39","date_gmt":"2016-09-10T18:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11101"},"modified":"2016-09-10T18:35:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T01:35:50","slug":"airbuss-aerial-commuter-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/airbuss-aerial-commuter-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Airbus’s Aerial Commuter of the Future?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Airbus and its partner Local Motors have just finished a successful design challenge for delivery drones that can carry things like emergency medical supplies to selected destinations.\u00a0 Recent announcements and the release of a patent drawing show Airbus is doing serious work toward delivering humans to their selected destinations in a scaled-up version of such drones.\u00a0 Many brilliant people have tried to combine the benefits of ground and air transport over the years, including Molt Taylor, designer of the rightly famous Aerocars.\u00a0 The example at Seattle\u2019s Museum of Flight causes docents to lower their voices out of respect for the accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\"Airbus's

Airbus’s quadrotor-like commuter, a hybrid platform for avoiding traffic jams<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently, Airbus formed a group in California\u2019s Silicon Valley called A3, or A Cubed.\u00a0\u00a0 The group earned a patent on a large quadrotor, passenger-carrying machine which could well be an aerial Uber-type vehicle.\u00a0 That certainly fits its Airbus parentage.\u00a0 A3\u2019s web site contains this mission statement:<\/p>\n

Unicorns and Jackalopes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the Silicon Valley outpost of Airbus Group, the parent of Airbus (the leading maker of large commercial aircraft), Airbus Helicopters (the world\u2019s largest supplier of civil helicopters), and Airbus Defense & Space (which makes satellites, drones, and military aircraft, and provides cyber defense capabilities). The mission of Airbus Group is to make things that fly. Our aim is to define the future of flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the future is created through episodic disruption with intervening periods of incremental innovation. Our mission is to build the future of flight now, by disrupting Airbus Group and its competitors before someone else does.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe solve big problems by employing world-class experts and by developing fertile partnerships. Our projects are built on rigorous analysis, novel insights, and commitment to unreasonable goals. We fly in the face of risk and deliver with maximum speed. We are A\u00b3 by Airbus Group.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A

A combination of jackrabbits and antelope, jackalopes are often seen on tavern walls in the American West<\/p><\/div>\n

Willing to take big risks to achieve unreasonable goals, it follows that a typical executive in the group would be a different breed, because he or she would lead a unicorn organization \u2013 a Silicon Valley startup worth over a billion dollars (at least at the parent company level).\u00a0\u00a0 Airbus describes a project manager like Jane Jackalope, a mythical creature leading a rare company.\u00a0 \u201cYou are a jackalope of all trades. You are that rare creature at the intersection of a dreamer, a project manager, a chief engineer, and an evangelist. You are the world\u2019s leading expert in your domain. You have an idea that will disrupt it. And you are passionate about bringing this idea to life.\u201d<\/p>\n