A Singapore four-man start-up, Neo Aeronautics, has unveiled a one-of-a-kind flying vehicle on April 25, 2019.

Launching in U.S. in 2020

The personal one-seater vehicle, named Crimson S8, is meant to act as a door-to-door urban transportation, and can be taken as a "taxi" in the future.

It will be launching in California, in the United States in late 2020.

It will not be launching in Singapore due to local regulations.

The vehicle is currently being flight-tested indoors at Loyang and outdoor trials will proceed if approval by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore is granted.

Regardless, the firm is aiming to conduct flight tests in the U.S. by March 2020.

Very accessible

Founder and chief executive of the firm, Neo Kok Beng, told The Straits Times that the vehicle is designed for low-level urban mobility.

It can reach heights of 15m, which is around five storeys, and can carry up to 100kg weight.

It can even reach speeds of up to 100km/h, and is compact enough to fit into a standard American parking lot.

The vehicle can be flown manually, or on autopilot.

Neo said the vehicle is as simple to operate as a drone, and is designed to fit into the ultralight category set by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

This means that potential operators do not require a pilot licence to fly the vehicle.

Although there are no age or experience requirements for those who wish to fly the Crimson S8, users need to be prepared -- a two-hour training session is mandatory before one is allowed to take the "wheel".

The current model can only stay in the air for 20 minutes, but the start-up hopes to improve that air time to 60 minutes.

Aiming for membership scheme

Neo's aspirations for the project are flying high.

He and his firm aim to launch the vehicle in 25 cities in the U.S. by 2025, with 1,000 units in each city.

Neo, who invested more than S$200,000 of his own money into the project, said that he plans to offer the vehicle on a membership-based scheme in the future, where users can fly the vehicle for several hours or a day, according to Today.

He said not many would be able to afford it otherwise, and a membership scheme would help to make the vehicle more affordable to the masses.

The company would then still be able to handle maintenance and upgrading.

Neo hopes that Singapore regulations will evolve over time and eventually allow the firm to launch the Crimson S8 locally as well.

The start-up is open to external funding.

Top photo from Neo Aeronautics Facebook