Bell Helicopter is on a Mission To Change the History of Vertical Flight

author: Eric Walz   

LAS VEGAS — Bell Helicopter got everyone's attention at CES today and revealed its air taxi experience, complete with a luxurious interior cabin design and fully integrated user interface. Bell is the first company ever to debut an 'air taxi' concept at CES.

Bell is partnering with Uber, and is on a mission to bring its "mobility of the future" to the masses. The four-passenger cabin demonstrates Bell's view of an on-demand mobility aircraft that focuses on a people-first engineered user experience tailored with an urban air taxi ride, normally reserved for the very wealthy or connected.

Once onboard, passengers will sync to an intuitive user experience display, where they can catch up on world news, hold a video conference call, share files with other passengers, or simply unplug from the crowded streets below in a comfortable, relaxing space.

By putting on an HTC Vive headset, attendees at CES experienced an augmented reality simulator inside the cabin, to show what the flying experience is like, while touching down at a red-carpet premiere and several cross-city day and night trips.

"Bell Helicopter is innovating at the limits of vertical flight and challenging the traditional notion of aviation to solve real-world problems," stated Bell Helicopter's President and CEO Mitch Snyder during the the CES event. "The future of urban air taxi is closer than many people realize. We believe in the positive impact our design will have on addressing transportation concerns in cities worldwide."

Here are some more pictures below:

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.