For long, people have dreamed of a car which can fly in the sky.
And, recently Japan’s SkyDrive had a successful, although a modest test flight on this type of car with a person inside.
In a video shown to reporters, a vehicle looking like a motorcycle with propellers was seen being lifted up to 2 meters in the air. It flew in circles in a protected area for 4 minutes.
The head of SkyDrive, Tomohiro Fukuzawa said that he is hopeful that the flying car can become a real product by the year of 2023. But, he emphasized the crucial factor-i.e. safety.
He explained that of the more than 100 flying car projects in the world, only several have had a person on board. He hopes that a lot of people will be willing to ride in this one and feel safe.
What Does the Flying Car Do?
So far, the machine can fly 5 to 10 minutes only; however, if the time can be prolonged to half an hour, it would open up so many possibilities.
Unlike helicopters and airplanes, the electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, also known as eVTOL, offer point-to-point quick travel.
They would remove the need for going to airports, getting stuck in traffic jams, and reduce the need to pay pilots.
However, until this happens, manufacturers will have to solve the problems like battery size, air traffic control, and other challenges.
Professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Sanjiv Singh said a lot of things have to happen.
He also added that if they cost $10 million, no one is going to purchase them and if they fly for only 5 minutes, no one will buy them. And, if they fall from the sky, no one will buy them.
The SkyDrive flying car began as a volunteer project back in 2012 and it was supported financially by the top Japanese companies like Toyota, Panasonic, and Bandai Namco, a video-game developer.
The Japanese government is also supportive of this futuristic project.
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