Flying taxis could be carrying passengers in 2025, but hurdles remain

The aircraft—known as “electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, or eVTOL—lift off the ground like a helicopter. When he was still a boy making long, tedious trips between his school and his woodsy home in the mountains during the 1980s, JoeBen Bevirt began fantasizing about flying cars that could whisk him to his destination in a matter of minutes.As CEO of Joby Aviation, Bevirt is getting closer to turning his boyhood flights of fancy into a dream come true as he and latter-day versions of the Wright Brothers launch a new class of electric-powered aircraft vying to become taxis in the sky.The aircraft—known as “electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, or eVTOL—lift off the ground like a helicopter before flying at speeds up to 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour) with a range of about 100 miles (161 kilometers). And these craft do it without filling the air with excessive noise caused by fuel-powered helicopters and small airplanes.“We are just a few steps from the finish line. We want to turn what are now one- and two-hour trips into five-minute trips,” Bevirt, 51, told the Associated Press before a Joby air taxi took off on a test flight in Marina, California—located about 40 miles south from where he grew up in the mountains.Archer Aviation, a Silicon Valley company backed by automaker Stellantis and United Airlines, has been testing its own eTVOLs over farmland in Salinas, California, where a prototype called “Midnight” could be seen gliding... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2025-01-08 15:38:34 UTC ]

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Orbit Launches New Imprint, Orbit Works

Spearheaded by Orbit executive editor Brit Hvide and editor Stephanie Clark, the imprint will focus on science fiction and fantasy titles in digital formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC releases first images of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in Doctor Who

Pair who play Doctor and companion don 60s-style outfits in photos from upcoming seriesThe first images of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson travelling back to the 1960s in Doctor Who have been released by the BBC.Gatwa, a star of Sex Education, will play the Doctor, with Gibson, a Coronation Street... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-20 17:52:11 UTC ]
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What Would It Take to Imagine a Truly Alien Alien?

Science fiction illustrates the perspective-bending challenge of conjuring intelligent life that’s radically different from humans. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2023-04-18 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for April 17, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-17 14:06:49 UTC ]
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Rachel Pollack, Transgender Activist and Authority on Tarot, Dies at 77

Her science fiction writing won awards. Her tarot books won her a devoted following. And she created DC Comics’ first transgender superhero. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-04-13 20:05:34 UTC ]
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NYPD's Spot Robot is back for use in 'hazardous situations'

Back in 2021, the New York Police Department (NYPD) cancelled a planned deployment of the Spot robot dog [aka "Digidog"] following a public backlash. Now, New York City's current law and order mayor Eric Adams has brought the robot dog back for use in "hazardous situations," The New York Times... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-04-12 06:19:27 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for April 10, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-10 13:54:15 UTC ]
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How governments are using science fiction to predict potential threats

Science fiction has always been good at predicting distant futures and now governments are turning to them to ward off possible threats. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-04-10 13:17:28 UTC ]
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Rachel Pollack, trans activist and comic book writer, dies aged 77

Pollack, who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, Kate Godwin, had been fighting Hodgkin’s lymphomaRachel Pollack, award-winning author, leading authority on tarot and the occult, trans activist and comic-book writer who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, has died... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 10:45:56 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for April 3, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-03 14:22:26 UTC ]
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The Intensive Care Unit’ by J. G. Ballard: An Analysis

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all the writers of science fiction and speculative fiction writing in the twentieth century, a few names spring to mind as candidates for the most ‘prophetic’ writers in the field: William Gibson, who popularised the term ‘cyberspace’ and the idea... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-04-03 14:00:15 UTC ]
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The Intensive Care Unit’ by J. G. Ballard: An Analysis

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all the writers of science fiction and speculative fiction writing in the twentieth century, a few names spring to mind as candidates for the most ‘prophetic’ writers in the field: William Gibson, who popularised the term ‘cyberspace’ and the idea... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-04-03 14:00:15 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for March 27, 2023

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[ Book Riot | 2023-03-27 13:20:56 UTC ]
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The Best Science Fiction is Real: Realistic Sci-Fi to TBR

Red your way into the best realistic science fiction, ranging from well-known classics to lesser known gems. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Eric Brown, science fiction author and Guardian critic, dies aged 62

Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for March 20, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-20 13:42:08 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s SFF Deals for March 13, 2023

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[ Book Riot | 2023-03-13 13:58:47 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: How 20th century science unmade Newton's universe

Science is the reason you aren't reading this by firelight nestled cozily under a rock somewhere however, its practice significantly predates its formalization by Galileo in the 16th century. Among its earliest adherents — even before pioneering efforts of Aristotle — was Animaxander, the Greek... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-03-12 14:30:52 UTC ]
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Last Year's Sci-Fi Was More Genre-Bending Than Ever

Want a glimpse into the future of SFF? We look at some of the weird and wonderful standouts from The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2023-03-10 17:00:00 UTC ]
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2023 Nebula Award Finalists Announced

The 2023 Nebula Award Finalists were announced by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association this week. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 15:15:00 UTC ]
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