Wisk's latest flying taxi has four seats and can fly itself

Wisk Aero says it is the first-ever candidate for type certification by the FAA of an e VTOL. The design appears to be an updated version of the "Cora" air taxi that we first saw in New Zealand last year. The company did not show any flights or details of the certification progress.

At a height of 2,500 to 4,000 feet, the four-seat aircraft can cruise between 120 and 140 knots. It's a VTOL aircraft with a 12-propeller design that has fixed units in front and tilt units in the rear. According to the press release, it has improved control and efficient energy management over previous versions.

In the promotional video, passengers are buckled in with shoulder harness-style seatbelts and shown how to use a safety procedure on a computer screen. Wisk claims that there are fewer moving parts, no oil and no fuel, which will make flying safer. It's designed to exceed today's rigorous aviation safety standards of a one-in-a billion chance of an accident.

The company believes that it is the key to air mobility. They aim to have improved sensors to detect and avoid obstacles, along with multi-vehicle supervisors that give human oversight of every flight, and can take control if needed.

The vehicle is a candidate for FAA certification that would allow it to fly passengers. Even a new company with a brand new type of aircraft that's never flown passengers before is not easy to get a piece of paper for.

Larry Page founded the aviation company Kittyhawk and recently announced that it was shutting down. Boeing and Kittyhawk collaborated on the 5th- generation of the Cora aircraft, which led to the creation ofWick.

There are other companies that want to see the air taxi thing through. The FAA gave Joby the go-ahead to operate its air taxi services. It still needs FAA certification for its prototype aircraft before it can transport people.