🤫 Hyundai's ‘quiet as a dishwasher’ eVTOL will hit the market in 2028

Imagine an electric air taxi quietly whisking you across the city at over 100 miles per hour, with the reliability of a commercial airliner. Hyundai’s Supernal just unveiled its striking new S-A2 vehicle designed to turn this sci-fi vision into mainstream urban reality within this decade.

Propelled by leading aviation talent and Hyundai’s global automotive might, the S-A2 aims higher than any eVTOL predecessor in pursuit of affordable air travel’s immense potential. Learn more about this quiet revolution in personal aviation, and get an early glimpse of the S-A2 in today’s Must Read.

🎪 We’re reporting from CES 2024 in Las Vegas throughout the week, and we’ll bring you all the most exciting product launches, smartest innovations, and latest trends that will drive the tech narrative this year.

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Hyundai's advanced air mobility company Supernal unveiled its latest piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the S-A2, at CES 2024. The successor to the S-A1 model moves closer to the company’s aim of enabling safe, efficient urban air transportation with four passengers at speeds reaching 120 mph.

The smooth, quiet eVTOL features eight all-tilting rotors with a distributed electric propulsion system for vertical lift. Supernal collaborated with automotive designers at Hyundai Motor Group to produce an aesthetic yet functional cabin interior for pilot and passengers.

The S-A2 provides a baseline for commercialization expected by 2028, with modular systems to accommodate improving technologies. While regulatory barriers remain, Supernal sees potential for the eVTOL to deliver clean mobility through cooperation between its 600-person team and Hyundai’s vast manufacturing capabilities. 

Google collaborated with solar tech pioneer Ambient Photonics on a new consumer product leveraging the startup’s breakthrough bifacial solar cells that harvest indoor light. The first-of-its-kind Google device announced at CES 2024 will rely solely on flexible thin film panels absorbing ambient illumination from room surroundings without batteries. Expected to be a smart speaker or display, the device will showcase practical commercial potential for sustainable indoor photonics.

At CES 2024, AI startup Rabbit unveiled the r1 - a pocket-sized digital aide combining custom hardware with a tailored large language assistant. By understanding detailed human intentions, their “Rabbit OS” aims to replicate cumbersome actions across common services without installing traditional apps. From travel planning to grocery delivery, personal “rabbits” target simplified experiences using only natural instructions. The $199 innovation is an early move towards more empathetic AI focused on the user’s goals.

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