With 100-inch TVs, robots and even flying cars, the world's biggest technology exposition, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has lots to see -- but no one to see it in person.
The event, which normally attracts hundreds of thousands of people to Las Vegas each January, is being hosted virtually this year as a result of the worldwide coronvirus crisis.
One of the show stoppers though if the crowds had come in-person is a flying one-passenger Cadillac car prototype aimed at ultra-rich buyers.
General Motors Company unveiled the "eVOL" concept, or the flying Cadillac, at a video shown by GM CEO Mary Barra at the online 2021 CES. A unit of GM, the Cadillac Motor Car Division is famous for designing and building luxury vehicles.
The flying Cadillac is an ultra-light, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone aircraft powered by electric motors. It's fully autonomous (or self-flying in this case) and the version revealed at CES was a one person flying machine.
Mike Simcoe, GM Vice President of Global Design, described the VTOL as "the Cadillac of urban air mobility." His comments led pundits to surmise GM plans to sell the luxurious flying car to the ultra-rich.
He said the Cadillac VTOL concept is GM's "first foray into aerial mobility."
GM's grand goal, however, is to sell two-seater air taxis worldwide to establish a commercial air taxi industry. "We're preparing for a world where advances in electrics and autonomous technology make personal air travel possible," said Simcoe.
There is even a model planned for the family, Simcoe said.
Called the Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle, this EV has much larger space for passengers to sit.
This mobile living room is designed for maximum comfort. The vehicle will include an array of biometric sensors measuring vital signs. The sensors can adjust the interior's temperature, humidity, lighting and aromatics for a more comfortable driverless ride.
