Collaborative flying car project presented in London

The Centre for Innovation in Polymer Engineering (PIEP), Fibrenamics and the Computer Graphics Centre (CCG/ZGDV), interfaces linked to the University of Minho’s School of Engineering, are at the Farnborough International Airshow in London (UK), one of the most important aeronautics and defence fairs in the world.

The three interfaces are part of the Portugal pavilion, promoted by AED Cluster Portugal and IdD Portugal Defence, which brings together around 25 organisations to present their skills, technological capabilities and innovation solutions.

The highlight is the FLY.PT collaborative project, a kind of flying car that swaps the road for the sky at a moment’s notice. The prototype combines a car and a drone, either separately or coupled, allowing for a multimodal system with the urban mobility of the future in mind. This new concept is part of the national strategy for the sustainable development of the sector.

Funded by the Compete 2020, Portugal 2020 and FEDER programmes, it involves AED Cluster Portugal, the companies Tekever, Setsa, Optimal Structural Solutions, Controlar, Almadesign, Empordef, CODI and FHP, as well as the academic and scientific institutions PIEP, INEGI, CEiiA, INESC TEC, Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Politécnico de Leiria and Universidade de Évora.

This is yet another participation by UMinho’s interfaces in international fairs, seeking to stand out for the excellence and impact of their projects and to reinforce their commitment to technological development and innovation in industry.

The national aeronautics and defence sector involves 18,500 qualified employees and generates 1.72 billion euros in turnover, 87% of which is in exports. At European level, the sector has more than 3,000 companies, 1.31 million workers and a turnover of 150 billion euros.