Most Read: Flying Vehicles Planned for Fiji Islands, Eyesight Restoring Device From Musk Company Earns FDA Breakthrough, Flying Bus Planning Begins

Here are the most-read stories on IoT World Today this week.

Flying Vehicles Planned for Fiji Islands

Odys Aviation, which makes hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles, agreed to provide flying vehicles to Fiji Airways to carry medical supplies and cargo to the Fiji Islands.

The companies signed an expression of interest (EOI) letter for Fiji to use the Odys runway-independent flying vehicles to help connect all of Fiji’s 330 islands.

The Odys Aviation Laila VTOL can carry cargo up to 400 miles providing the potential to open new emergency medical routes in the South Pacific that are inaccessible due to infrastructure challenges. 

The Laila VTOL also would allow Fiji Airways to contract with logistics and government agencies to support operations across the region.

Find out more about Odys Aviation’s hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle >>>

Eyesight-Restoring Device From Musk Company Earns FDA Breakthrough Designation

Neuralink, the Elon Musk brain implant startup, has earned FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for a device that can potentially restore eyesight for those who have lost it. 

The Blindsight device could help even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see, Musk said in a post on X. He also said it can even help those blind from birth see for the first time if the visual cortex is intact. 

“To set expectations correctly, the vision will be at first be low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge,” Musk wrote. 

Find out more about Neuralink’s plans to restore eyesight to the blind >>>

Air Taxi Company Takes First Flight in Brazil; Pilotless

Chinese flying taxi company EHang Holdings flew its pilotless electric aerial vehicle (EAV) in Brazil for the first time.

The EHang EH216-S took the test flight in Quadra, near the Sao Paulo region, in partnership with its local operator Gohobby Future Technologies.

EHang and Gohobby plan to conduct test flight campaigns with Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and Brazil’s Airspace Control Department (DECEA). 

EHang recently received approval for flight tests of its pilotless EAV, receiving the Experimental Flight Authorization Certificate, allowing the company to test and demonstrate its intelligent flight technology and cluster management system.

Get all the info on EHang’s first pilotless flight in Brazil >>>

Flying Bus Planning Starts; 30-Passenger Vehicle

The developer of a flying bus has started testing battery technology with university researchers for the 30-passenger eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle.

Sora Aviation in Bristol, U.K., has teamed with the University of Bath at its state-of-the-art advanced propulsion research center IAAPS at the Bristol and Bath Science Park.

The Sora S-1 electric aerial vehicle (EAV) is being designed to offer air taxi rides for $30 to $40 per passenger.

Get more details on Sora Aviation’s flying bus >>>

Flying Car Passes Inspection for Road Travel

The flying car Pal-V Liberty has completed its first Periodic Technical Inspection (PTI), four years after it was certified for road travel. 

The PTI is a mandatory inspection for most road vehicles in the Netherlands and is approved by the Netherlands Vehicle Authority. The testing checks whether the vehicle is roadworthy, environmentally safe and registered correctly.

The Pal-V Liberty received European road certification in 2020, allowing the flying car to be driven on public roads. 

The PTI approval in the Netherlands follows four years of driving on European roads.

Discover what’s next for Pal-V’s Liberty flying car >>>