The Future of the Helicopter, According to Bell

In the age of plane travel, you don’t always hear about advancements in helicopters, the rotor-cousins of the airplane. Bell, one of the largest helicopter companies, hopes to change that with their FCX 001 concept. It’s a pretty big leap forward. DesignBoom explains some of the technology the FCX will have:

On top of the helicopter, its morphing rotor blades aim to allow the tip of each blade to move between different flight systems, maximizing efficiency and performance, while reducing noise. The concept’s airframe is central to the energy management system, which harvests, stores, and distributes external energy or system energy to the helicopter.

Instead of a traditional co-pilot, the helicopter will feature augmented reality for the pilot, and an artificial intelligence co-pilot.