Maybe it’s not the “Delorean” from Back to the Future, but it’s not that far away. Toyota looks to the future. Three years ago you announced an investment in SkyDrive, an innovative start-up. It consists of former engineers from the automobile company. He developed the Cartivator, the prototype of the Japanese airplane. A personal aircraft.
Manned flight
That took three years. The makers now presented the functional prototype SD-03. It is a model that can be used to transport a person through the air. And a demonstration was held. It was kept on Toyota property. At the moment he managed to take off with a pilot on board and stay in the air. It’s a very limited but promising achievement.
SkyDrive tries to consolidate its development. It wants to be available with a service that the Japanese authorities can implement in the coming years. Here is the official trailer for the first flight of SkyDrive SD-03, the Japanese prototype flying car:
It is about four meters long and four meters wide. It reaches a height of two meters. The SkyDrive aircraft takes the place of two medium-sized vehicles in a parking lot. Due to its size, it can only be carried by one person. It is equipped with four pairs of propellers that have their own electric motor. The aim is to offer a redundant system in the event of an emergency landing.
SkyDrive’s SD-03 prototype is not yet an autonomous vehicle. It requires the control of a human pilot. However, the developers point out that the integrated systems ensure that the navigation values are automatically checked and adjusted. In this way, they maintain the safety and stability of the flight without the intervention of the crew member.
It is true that it was a limited test. However, SkyDrive plans to conduct additional test flights before the end of the year. You will do this in various meteorological conditions and in an airspace without the limitations of this test.
One day you will look up at the sky, look for the sun … and what you will see cars will come and go. Maybe cars like this Japanese prototype.
