Those Google guys – Sergei Brin and Larry Page – have always had a penchant for out-of-the-box innovation, and for trying new things we might never have expected from a website that was just a search engine. But as we’ve learned over the years, Google (like Apple) has its sights set on changing our worlds.
So no one should have been surprised by the news that Google co-founder Larry Page has been quietly funding a startup called Zee.Aero. Their rumored mission: to develop the flying car.
To Page, it’s about personal air travel that can take drivers and passengers above traffic jams, accidents, and other roadblocks that prevent us from getting from Point A to Point B. These flying cars would use VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing). According to Bloomberg, Zee.Aero has nearly 150 professionals on staff, and Page has already invested $100 million in this question.
We’ve talked a lot about autonomous cars in the past year, but flying cars? As it turns out, the futuristic technology may not be as difficult as it sounds. In fact, NASA aeronautical engineer Mark Moore makes this claim:
“Self-flying aircraft is so much easier than what the auto companies are trying to do with self-driving cars.”
Little else is known about what’s really going on at Zee.Aero. Security and secrecy are high. But given the speed at which technology is moving, anything seems possible.
Of course, this leads to the question of whether there will be radio in flying cars. And if that the case, will we be the one offering sponsored “aero-traffic and weather at the 8’s?”
Stay tuned.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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