Japan’s SkyDrive Inc., which is among the myriads of flying car projects around the world, has carried out a successful though modest test flight with one person aboard.
As reported, on August 28, 2020 a contraption that looked like a slick motorcycle with propellers lifted several feet (1-2 meters) off the ground, and hovered in a netted area for four minutes. The SkyDrive hopes the flying car can be made into a real-life product by 2023, with all safety measures.
There are more than 100 flying car projects but only a handful has succeeded with a person on board. Japan’s new innovative flying car can fly for just five to 10 minutes, however, experimentations are going on for 30 minutes flying time in the initial stage.
The Mechanism Unlike airplanes and helicopters, eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing), vehicles offer quick point-to-point personal travel, at least in principle. They could do away with the hassle of airports and traffic jams and the cost of hiring pilots, they could fly automatically. Battery sizes, air traffic control, and other infrastructure issues are among the many potential challenges to commercializing them.
The SkyDrive Project The SkyDrive project began humbly as a volunteer project called Cartivator in 2012, with funding by top Japanese companies including automaker Toyota Motor Corp., electronics company Panasonic Corp. and video-game developer Bandai Namco. Experts are hopeful for the success of the project and its commercial success. They cite the example of airplanes, cell phones, and self-driving cars, which took time to win acceptance. But the time between technology and social adoption might be more compressed for eVTOL vehicles. However, such a technology, if successful, will be a great benefit for congested city roads.
Courtesy: The Indian Express