Not just a flight of fancy, the ‘Pop.Up Next’ is an entirely electric, fully automatic modular concept for horizontal and vertical mobility that could, in the distant future, solve traffic problems by transporting people in cities quickly and conveniently both on the road and in the air. The joint concept has been envisaged by Audi, Italdesign and Airbus. Audi is supporting the project with its know-how on battery technology and automation.
The ultra-light, two-seater passenger cabin can be attached either to a car module or to a flight module. The dominant interior feature is a 49-inch screen, with interaction between humans and the machine performed by speech and face recognition, eye-tracking and a touch function. ‘Creativity is needed where new mobility concepts for cities and people’s diverse needs are concerned. Italdesign is an incubator for innovative technologies and radical prototyping. Pop.Up Next is an ambitious vision that could permanently change our urban life in the future,’ said Dr. Bernd Martens, Audi Board Member for Procurement and President of Italdesign.
Italdesign develops future-oriented vehicle concepts for Audi and customers around the globe. Jörg Astalosch, CEO of Italdesign, says: ‘Various players will define the rules of urban mobility in the future. We are proud to collaborate with Airbus, the leading company in the aerospace industry, to investigate solutions for future mobility.’
Astalosch sees Pop.Up Next as a flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities. Italdesign is making use of a network of cities, universities and various stakeholders in order to better anticipate the future of mobility in cities. A first version of Pop.Up was premiered at the Geneva Autosalon a year ago. For more information visit Drive-My/en…
