Scheduled to put flying cars to practical use in 2023
"The commercialization of flying cars is just around the corner. We are also developing for practical use in 2023," says Tomohiro Fukuzawa of SkyDrive.
The features of a flying car are (1) low cost and low noise because it is electric, (2) easy to drive and automatic driving, and (3) vertical takeoff and landing that allows point movement from point to point and compact infrastructure. Be aggregated. Taking advantage of these features, Mr. Fukuzawa says, "I want to aim for a world where travel can be done in a shorter time, safely and at will, even in areas where infrastructure is not well developed."
The development of flying cars was spurred by Uber's release of a 99-page white paper in 2016, which presented a concrete business model. Taking this opportunity, product announcements and flight tests were carried out one after another in Europe and the United States, and efforts toward practical application accelerated at a stretch.
Of course, Japan is no exception. In August 2020, SkyDrive succeeded in the first public test of manned flight in Japan, showing its presence as a top runner in this area.
"Probably from 2022 to 2024, sales of flying cars will start. It is said that the market size will eventually expand to about one-third of the automobile market. If the battery technology of the battery evolves, the cruising range is extended, and the problems of regulations and social acceptance are cleared, I think that the use of flying cars will continue to expand, "Fukuzawa said.
The flying cars currently under development are roughly divided into two types: large aircraft and small aircraft. The former is a 10m square, weight 3 ton or more aircraft, the representative of which is Bell's Nexus. On the other hand, the latter is compact with a size of 3m square and a weight of 0.6 tons, such as SkyDrive and EHang products from China.
Larger aircraft have a cruising range of 100 to 300 km, while smaller aircraft have a short cruising range of 20 to 30 km. "For this reason, a large aircraft is suitable when you want to go far, and a small aircraft is suitable when you want to move a short distance using a compact takeoff and landing site," says Mr. Fukuzawa. "In Japan and Asia, compact aircraft that can take off and land on the roof of a building and can be used on a daily basis will become widespread. On the other hand, in Europe and the United States, where the land is wide and the distance traveled is long, the development and introduction of large aircraft will progress. I think that's the situation. Right now, the development is proceeding while working hard with each other between these two categories. "