From Flying Cars to Jetpacks, The Future of Transportation is Already Here

Not Your Grandpa's Roadster

Just a few generations ago, the idea that we could hop in our car for a road trip without a paper atlas and, instead, navigate with computers in our car—let alone computers in our handheld phones—was idea that was little more than science fiction.

However, in recent years, technology has evolved so quickly, and in so many ways we couldn't have imagined, that we're now well along the path to a remarkably futuristic world. Flying cars and vacuum tube trains were something only The Jetsons could have made up. But it's no longer a matter of if, but when we will have these advanced technologies. And the "when" may be much sooner than you think.

In fact, when it comes to some of that previously scifi-only technology, the future is already here.

One of the major ways in which technology is already altering the course of history is through the ways we get around. Transportation—both at the micro and macro level—is already undergoing major adaptations due to technology. Indeed, once upon a time, our transportation was limited by the realities of what we could achieve technologically. Now, it's practically the reverse: The only thing limiting us is what we can dream up.

On the roadways, electric vehicles and hybrid cars have become increasingly common. Tesla, Google, and even traditional automakers like Volkswagen have EVs in the pipeline. While they aren't yet an affordable option for every driver, that's likely to change as the technology becomes easier (and cheaper) to produce. The next task will be scaling up EV technology for trucks, trains, and buses; a task which will likely require a major overhaul of the United States' infrastructure — especially if the rails and roadways have self-charging technology.

As for flying cars? They're basically already here.

Building The World of Tomorrow

The infrastructure in the U.S. is probably long overdue for an upgrade, but those who are coming up with ideas aren't limiting themselves simply to what cities need; they're thinking well beyond. Cars that can seal up potholes or roads that can "heal" and de-ice themselves, train tracks that can charge cars as they cruise along and even send excess energy back to the grid, and bridges that are capable of adjusting their weight-bearing to extend the lives of their cables…these are just a few of the things in the works.

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Beyond-your-wildest-dreams concepts like the Hyperloop have already gone from plan to prototype, and they won't just change how we get from point A to point B, but change our perception of what it means to travel. In the same way that air travel cut time off trips that used to take months by sea, the hyper-fast travel permitted by something like the Hyperloop will change our perceived geographically limitations for work, living, and play.

The idea of distributed energy could also be used for individual, electric vehicles: fleets can be hooked up to a power grid to charge and, in turn, the grid can tap into the excess energy as-needed. As those grids would be powered by wind or solar, the energy-generating potential would be efficient and renewable.

Pair these efficient, renewably-energized vehicles with self-driving technology, and you're looking at the next frontier of transportation technology: EVs that can drive themselves.

While autonomous vehicle technology is already being developed, we don't yet know exactly how it will play out in large scale implementation. It would require people to, essentially, relearn to drive (or, as it is, learn to not drive), and the "rules of the road" would need to shift accordingly.

Making Dreams Into Reality

Although the aforementioned technologies are already well on their way to completion, we need to ensure that society it able to keep pace. For example, would multi-lane highways be safer or more precarious in the absence of human drivers? Who's to blame when an AI driven car gets in an accident? Should human drivers be banned from the streets? While many studies have supposed that autonomous vehicles will be safer because they take human fallibility out of the equation, until the tech is in practice we can't be sure.

Similar legislative and ethical questions surround the other technologies detailed. As Tony Robinson, who co-founded the company behind The Future of Transportation World Conference, notes, from flying cars to smart streets, the tech of tomorrow is going to necessitate some new rules. For example, he asserts that we will need to "completely rethink the legislation relating to air traffic control, as flying cars will need very high levels of investment in geo-mapping, flight dimensional city mapping, and interfacing with the aviation segment to enable a lot of advanced systems to operate underneath the existing canopy of what we know as air traffic control and air traffic management."

Fortunately, there are plenty of minds gathering around the world to ruminate on these questions and come up with solutions—ideally, before problems even arise. To this end, The Future of Transportation World Conference, which will be held in Cologne, Germany July 5 and 6 of this year,  aims to:

Bring together world transportation leaders from automotive manufacturers and their suppliers, transportation authorities and city planners, rail and public transportation technology firms and operators, technology and software giants, drone and personal air transportation solution companies, freight and logistics companies, mass-transit solution providers, business consultants, inventors of new and disruptive global mobility solutions, all with the common goal of devising better solutions for the increasingly demanding challenge of providing safe, efficient, sustainable transportation for the world in 2030 and beyond.

This year's full program can be viewed here. If you'd like to attend the conference, purchase your tickets here and use code: FTM20NM to receive a 20 percent discount.

Source: From Flying Cars to Jetpacks, The Future of Transportation is Already Here

Mini? No, Trident: The dinky 'flying saucer' bubble car that's 3ft wide... and going to auction for a huge £80,000

Peel Trident microcar is one of only 45 made by Isle of Man firm Peel Engineering Company over 2-year period

At 6ft 1in long and 3ft 3in wide, it's easy to park - and there are no doors; users must lift the dome up to get in 

The two-seater's 49cc, 4.2 horsepower engine gives it a top speed of only 38mph

Top Gear presenter James May described it as 'something out of The Jetsons' in a 2007 episode of BBC show

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 17:02 EDT, 30 May 2017 | Updated: 17:02 EDT, 30 May 2017

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It's one of the few cars to make a Reliant Robin seem roomy. And to anyone not old enough to remember the bubble car craze of the 1960s, it may look like the failed prototype for a flying saucer.

But this Peel Trident microcar is expected to fetch £80,000 at auction. 

As one of only 45 made by Isle of Man firm Peel Engineering Company over a two-year period, the 1965 three-wheeler is a collector's item. 

This Peel Trident microcar is expected to fetch £80,000 at auction in Monterey, California

As one of only 45 made by Isle of Man firm Peel Engineering Company over a two-year period, the 1965 three-wheeler is a collector's item

The two-seater's 49cc, 4.2 horsepower engine gives it a top speed of only 38mph

At 6ft 1in long and 3ft 3in wide, it is a dodd le to park - and there are no doors. Users must lift the dome up to get in. 

Prospective buyers will not be attracted by the two-seater's performance, as its 49cc, 4.2 horsepower engine gives it a top speed of only 38mph.

The Trident will be sold in Monterey, California, on August 18 by its US owner, who bought it in 2014.

The dinky car may not be able to take to the skies, but its most identifiable feature is a glass bubble shell, much like George Jetson's 'aerocar' from the cartoon series.

At 6ft 1in long and 3ft 3in wide, it is a doddle to park - and there are no doors. Users must lift the dome up to get in

Top Gear presenter James May described the Trident as 'something out of The Jetsons' in a 2007 episode of the BBC motoring show

The resemblance wasn't lost on Top Gear presenter James May, who described it as 'something out of The Jetsons' in a 2007 episode of the BBC motoring show.  

The Trident was the successor to the famous Peel P50, which still holds the Guinness World Record as the smallest p roduction car ever made.

Top Gear fans may remember watching Jeremy Clarkson drive a P50 around the BBC offices in the same episode of Top Gear that May referenced the Trident.

Upon release, the Trident was optimistically advertised as having 'saloon car comfort with scooter cost' and, because of its futuristic design, attached with the slogan 'your transport of tomorrow - today'.

As production numbers would indicate, the Trident was not a success and the car was named in Time magazine's list of the 50 Worst Cars Ever. 

Upon release, the Trident was optimistically advertised as having 'saloon car comfort with scooter cost' and, because of its futuristic design, attached with the slogan 'your transport of tomorrow - today'

 

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Source: Mini? No, Trident: The dinky 'flying saucer' bubble car that's 3ft wide... and going to auction for a huge £80,000

Vehicle splits in half and strikes eight vehicles after flying into auto mall

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - While traveling eastbound on Colonial Drive early Monday morning, a vehicle lost control and struck a light pole off of the roadway, reports the Florida Highway Patrol. 

The vehicle split into two pieces and flung into the parking lot of an auto mall, where eight cars were struck. 

The crash remains under investigation.

Source: Vehicle splits in half and strikes eight vehicles after flying into auto mall

Forget flying cars and get ready for air taxis

Yes, the cars in Blade Runner, The 5th Element and Back to the Future are cool, and who wouldn't want to push a button and take to the sky in their Honda Civic? But it's not going to happen any time in the next few decades, if ever. Frankly, the average driver can't be trusted with anything that breaks free of the earth. Plus, adding potentially millions of vehicles to the sky is a logistical nightmare that's sure to end in more than a few collisions that, unlike earth-based vehicles, would end with potentially hundreds of injured or killed bystanders. But that doesn't mean the only time we'll take to the skies for transit will be via international airports.

Instead of flying cars, get ready for fleets of small "air taxis" zipping from hub to hub within a region, delivering passengers to their destinations. There's a reason Uber is so bullish on this idea -- it's an outstanding complement to its current business model. The company wants a world where you take an Uber to one of its flight hubs, hop into a eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) craft and be whisked to another hub on the other side of town. You'd then finish the trip in, you guessed it, an Uber.

It's also not too hard to imagine current airlines wanting in on the action too; most already offer commuter flights. Plus, of course, there's going to be an onslaught of random startups hoping to be the "Uber of the sky."

But Uber's dream requires partners, new regulations, a change to air traffic control and an infrastructure that doesn't exist today. Plus, you need actual flying vehicles, whatever they might look like.

Fortunately, there's commercial interest in building these air taxis of the future. Airbus' A3 and Aurora Flight Sciences (an Uber partner that happens to work with the DoD) are both working on eVTOL craft. Neither aircraft being developed by these companies resembles a car. Instead they look like futuristic tiny planes. Both take off like a helicopter but fly like a plane, which makes them perfect for short (under 50 to 60 miles) jaunts for two people. But as these get closer to full production (both companies are targeting 2020 for full-size test vehicles), it's clear that one of those seats will be filled by a pilot.

"Pilot" is probably not what the person behind the wheel (or maybe joystick) will be called. Maybe a controller is the better description. Flying one these multi-rotor craft would be impossible without a computer stabilizing the flight with tiny adjustments being made to each motor at all times. A typical helicopter has two rotors that have to be adjusted constantly by the pilot. Adding six more to that mix and a human wouldn't be able to keep control. "It's obviously impossible to fly this plane fully manually. This plane has to be a fly-by-wire system out of the out of the box." said Diana Siegel, eVTOL program manager at Aurora.

Full autonomy may come eventually, but like self-driving cars, a lot of work needs to be done. Ken Goodrich, research engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center, believes it might be 20 years before we see a pilot-less aircraft zipping around an urban area. "You'll certainly find people that say, 'oh no, you know that will happen in five years 10 years.' You know, truthfully nobody knows. But we probably will have to take an evolutionary process to get there, just like it's taking place with driver-less cars today."

Autonomy won't stop in the air though. Air traffic control is going have to evolve to handle all these extra craft. According to Goodrich, at certain times there are as many air traffic controllers on the ground as there are planes in the air. That model would be unsustainable if a city were to add multiple hubs and potentially hundreds of air taxis.

"The individual's ability to manage airplanes quickly becomes an issue. If you try to scale that up, not only is it individuals that run into bottlenecks but just hand offs between individuals is also a bottleneck. It has to become much more automated," Goodrich told Engadget.

The FAA, for its part, has been talking to manufacturers and is "taking a flexible, risk-based approach to integrating innovative new technologies" said Ian Gregor, FAA public affairs manager. Gregor also noted that the agency is looking at the AI-controlled future, "Several areas need further research, particularly identifying the operational risks, making sure the automation that 'flies' the autonomous vehicle is safe, and how the automation will interact with the air traffic control system."

Zach Lovering, project executive of A3's Vahana eVTOL, seems enthusiastic about the agency's course, "While it's true that historically the FAA has been slow to adopt new technologies, recent work being performed across many divisions of the FAA marks a significant shift in their approach. Not only is the FAA working to modernize the small aircraft certification process, but they are also working to integrate unmanned vehicles into our airspace."

But even if the air taxis can fly and the FAA is ready to add them to US airspace there's still one big hurdle that technology might not be able to tackle: The people living near the hubs.

The biggest issue will be sound. There's a reason houses near the airport are cheaper. That said, the creators of these aircraft insist that they won't be any louder than nearby roads. "Our design goal is really to be able to take off and blend in with road traffic that are 70-75 decibels," said Siegel. That's possible thanks to the electric motors that'll be powering the rotors on the craft.

After the initial vertical take, the craft will fly forward like a plane and be even quieter. But potential neighbors will probably want to see a demonstration before they're cool with a tiny airport in their hood.

Additionally, who will be the first customers? Taking a new type of car across town is one thing, flying in a new type of craft might take a while to catch on. Plus, there's a good chance that it's going to be way pricier than driving. In addition to the aircraft, you need a hub with landing spots, chargers, buildings and staff to act as local traffic control, customer service and maintenance. So initially it'll be confined to executives, Fyre Festival trust fund kids and lottery winners.

But eventually, the rest of us would be able to ride across the town when we're in a huge hurry. Although for some, their first trip will likely be because of an emergency. These eVTOLs would make great ambulances in a congested urban area. However they're used and how soon the rest of us will be able to fly in one without a pilot is just a matter of getting full-size craft in the air which should happen in the next three to five years. Maybe sooner.

I'm sorry, you're not getting a flying car, but if your grandchildren are lucky they might get something that flies to get them around town. "We think it's kind of funny when people call us a flying car — if Vahana is a flying car then so is a helicopter!" Lovering told Engadget. Siegel concurs, "If we can get away from [the phrase] 'flying car' that would be wonderful."

So let's keep the cars on the ground. Because the sky belongs to something else.

Welcome to Tomorrow, Engadget's new home for stuff that hasn't happened yet. You can read more about the future of, well, everything, at Tomorrow's permanent home and check out all of our launch week stories here.

Source: Forget flying cars and get ready for air taxis

Uber Shushes the Flying Car Doubters, Insists It Will Have Vehicles in the Sky by 2020

The future of transportation is heading straight for Texas. First there was talk of a super high-speed train across the state, then billionaire Elon Musk's even faster hyperloop tube travel, and now another innovative project is taking off in the Lone Star State.

Uber is determined to introduce flying cars to Dallas and Dubai by the year 2020.

The undertaking is incredibly ambitious – in fact, the technology for this kind of aircraft has yet to even be developed. Uber has teamed up with five aviation companies in an effort to create the VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) electric aircraft that it has envisioned, including Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter.

These types of flying machines do not need runways to take off. They go straight up (vertically) into the sky.

Uber has also partnered with Fort Worth-based real estate company Hillwood Properties to plan and build "vertiports" for the aircrafts.

If the flying car project is successful in Dubai and Dallas, Uber plans to extend it to other cities and have a full-scale network up and running by 2023.

While the technology will be expensive in the short term, Uber is indicating that the flying car services would be as inexpensive as UberX to use. And unlike Uber Chopper, the new aircrafts will be quiet and high-efficiency.

The idea is certainly lofty – but if it really can turn a one hour and 40 minute commute into a 15-minute flight in an airborne car, we're ready for takeoff.

Source: Uber Shushes the Flying Car Doubters, Insists It Will Have Vehicles in the Sky by 2020

Moment a cyclist is sent flying through the air after smashing into the side of a car as he tried to undertake a minibus

A RUSHING cyclist who undertook a minibus that had stopped to leave a gap in traffic at a junction came a cropper when he smashed into the side of a turning car – flinging him into a 360 degree somersault.

Dramatic dashcam footage shows a man being thrown from his bike and crashing painfully into the road despite the turning Renault Clio taking the corner tentatively after being flashed to go by the minibus.

Mercury Press

A rushing cyclist who undertook a minibus that had stopped has been filmed being flung into the air

Mercury Press

Dramatic dashcam footage shows a man being thrown from his bike and crashing painfully into the road

As the cyclist raced past the junction on the inside of the minibus, he failed to notice the Renault and pedalled straight into the side of the vehicle.

The incident was caught on camera by a motorist in Weybridge, Surrey, prompting a heated online debate as to who was to blame.

The driver, a 40-year-old businessman, said: "All three of them had a role to play in it but ultimately I think the cyclist was to blame."

"The minibus was in queuing traffic and the driver flashed the oncoming car to let him through, as you do.

"Obviously the minibus had the best of intentions by allowing the Renault in when it was a tricky turn because of how busy it was.

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They added: "It's not as if the Renault has just shot through either, it took its time and sort of crept across the lane.

"Obviously neither the cyclist or the Renault driver could see each other as the minibus was in the way and that's why they've collided.

"It looked pretty nasty but thankfully the cyclist was back on his feet almost straight away. I could see him limping in my rear view mirror."

The incident happened as the dashcam owner was heading home from work on Balfour Road on May 15.

Moment driver brakes suddenly 'causing crash for cash accident - before FLEEING

The witness said: "I was doing 8mph according to my dashcam and the Renault was probably something similar.

"I think the cyclist has taken a risk undertaking standing traffic at that speed. I think the Renault did everything correct. The cyclist basically came from nowhere.

"I do feel sorry for the cyclist though because how many times would that happen?

"On one hand the cyclist can't see through the bus, but on the other hand they should be more cautious at a junction like that.

"I think if anything the cyclist was probably going faster than the car and that's why the fall was so spectacular.

"I know there's been accidents on that road before so maybe it's something that needs looked at."

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Source: Moment a cyclist is sent flying through the air after smashing into the side of a car as he tried to undertake a minibus

Study: At least 10 years away from 'flying' cars

Timothy Weisberg, KXTV 2:36 PM. PDT May 23, 2017

Uber announced plans at their Uber Elevate Summit to test a flying car prototype in Dubai by 2020. (Photo: Courtesy: Uber)

If flying cars are on your mind, you will need to wait at least 10 years before those thoughts are actually put into practice, a new study from Duke University and the NASA Langley Research Center suggests.

"Market readiness of such operations will be at least 10 years in the future," researchers said in the study conducted by Duke University's Humans and Autonomy Lab.

During Uber Elevate, a three-day summit held in Dallas last month, Uber said there could be a prototype for a flying car in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Dubai by 2020.

But according to the study, there are major barriers, both technical and regulatory, that are in the way of autonomous aircraft being cleared for takeoff.

The main limitations for so-called 'flying' cars are a decline in the number of private pilots licensed to operate in the United States, air traffic management, the high costs and cyber security risks, the study found.

"The prospects for a practical family 'flying car' have come up short, despite consistent support," the study said.

Future of 'flying cars'

The autonomous planes companies like Uber want to roll out look more like drones and are called electric vertical take off and landing aircraft, or VTOLs. The idea is that they would fly straight up like a helicopter, then fly forward like a plane.

The fleet of electric planes Uber is working with other companies to develop would be part of a transportation network for the ride-sharing company, used by people to take them places in a short amount of time.

The problem is that they have never been certified for civil use. The military's V-22 Osprey, arguably the most advanced VTOL, has an accident rate that is nearly three times that of commercial helicopters. With a less-than-stellar safety record, it will take time before this type of aircraft can be certified as an autonomous aircraft, the study said.

History of VTOLs

The idea of a transportation network in the skies is nothing new. In 1953, the New York Airways (NYA) commercial airline company started transporting people between several heliports on buildings in Manhattan. But several crashes caused by mechanical failures put NYA out of business in 1979.

For these reasons, the study found, VTOLs need an integrated set of regulations that define how the aircraft, airspace, and general operating rules, are regulated.

Role of the FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration is in charge of all aspects of civil aviation, and would be responsible for certifying and setting the rules and regulations for 'flying' cars.

In the Duke University study, researchers noted that a backup for autonomous vehicles that would allow a pilot to takeover an autonomous aircraft could speed up certification with the FAA.

The FAA has already laid the groundwork for small aircraft, revising their Part 23 rule, which sets standards for aircraft weighing 19,000 pounds or less with 19 or fewer seats.

"We are taking a flexible, open-minded, and risk-based approach to integrating new technologies into the world's busiest, most complex -- and safest -- aviation system," the FAA said in a statement.

"We have discussed certification projects with several manufacturers of aircraft that will be flown with a pilot in the beginning, then will be converted to an autonomous passenger aircraft in the future."

NASA is also working on a traffic management system that drones and other autonomous planes would run off of, the FAA said.

Timeline for 'flying cars'

More than a dozen companies are actively working on designs for unmanned airplanes, with what the study called "extremely optimistic" timelines for them to hit the market.

Airbus, a European aerospace company, wants to test a prototype for a self-piloting flying vehicle by the end of this year.

But researchers said a more realistic timetable is at least 10 years from now, and perhaps up to 30 years to achieve full aircraft autonomy.

"Advancements for enabling technologies have had major investments and initial experimental success, but may be some years away from being deployed for on-demand passenger air transportation," the study concluded.

© 2017 KXTV-TV

KXTV

Verify: Will we see 'flying' cars by 2020?

Source: Study: At least 10 years away from 'flying' cars

Meet George Jetson! Toyota is developing a flying car

Leave the road behind you and take to the sky with Cartivator, because the future is now

By Gary Elinoff, contributing writer   

A group of Toyota engineers have volunteered their time to work as an outside group called Cartivator to develop a flying car, designated as the Skydrive. Toyota's investment is minimal at about $350,000, but it's expected that the giant company's imprimatur will add gravitas to the project. It's expected that Skydrive will be ready to take its first manned flight in 2018, and the plan is for a high-flying public debut at the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Toyota hopes to offer the vehicle to the public in 2023.

Depiction of the Skydrive. Image Source: Cartivator.

What is a quadcopter? 

Unlike other entries into this field, which can be described as airplanes with wheels, the Skydrive in flight is more like a helicopter, or more specifically, a quadcopter. 

A quadcopter is a helicopter with four rotors. Two rotate clockwise, and the other two rotate counter-clockwise. Control is achieved by varying the speed of the rotors relative to each other. This is similar to many commercially available drones now on the market. 

Of course, one of the great advantages to being a quadcopter is that no runway is needed for takeoff. Just the thing for commuters. Is the expressway jammed bumper to bumper for as far as the eye can see? No problem for Skydrive. From a dead stop, you deploy and engage your rotors, and up into the sky you ascend. Then, with an adjustment of your rotors, you attain forward flight, and away you go, leaving the gridlocked terrestrials behind to waste time and gasoline while they stew in their juices. 

OK, so it probably won't really be like that. In reality, agencies like the FAA and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) will probably set up lots of rules on where and how such vehicles will be allowed to operate. But for now, regulations don't even contemplate the possibility of flying cars, even though the technology is rapidly becoming reality. So we can still dream big, or small, as in the Skydrive's case.

Taking a closer look at Cartivator 

Skydrive is compact, 9.5 feet long, 4.3 feet wide, and only 3.5 feet tall. The vehicle is designed for one person only, who sits in a reclining position, just like a racecar driver. The top speed for flight is expected to be just over 60 mph, and it's not designed to be a high flier, with a ceiling of about 33 feet. Oddly enough, it travels faster on the ground than it does aloft, at a maximum speed of just under 95 mph on its three wheels. 

Skydrive from multiple viewing perspectives. Image Source: Cartivator.  

When they start becoming available, though, the skies may quickly start to get crowded, because as you might expect, Toyota is not alone in its efforts. According to the BBC, Uber expects to test flying cars for its customers by 2020. Others, including industry powerhouse Airbus, have also expressed interest in following suit. And Massachusetts-based Terrafugia may be even closer. Its Transition car that converts to a sport airplane has already received extensive testing along with approvals and waivers from regulatory agencies that will allow it to be sold and operated (with appropriate user licensing) in the U.S., with first delivery expected in 2019.  

The company is now developing its TF-X flying car with vertical take-off capability similar to Toyota's concept. Terrafugia is also working with international regulatory agencies to help create the new certification standards that such vehicles will need to meet.  

Given all this activity on both technical and regulatory fronts, the plans that Toyota has for its Skydrive no longer seem like a cartoon fantasy or distant future. They may actually be coming to a road near you within a decade.

Source: Meet George Jetson! Toyota is developing a flying car

Despite car count, Unity Raceway off to flying start

UNITY — All the ingredients were there for a splendid opening day at Unity Raceway on Sunday, including a beautiful sun-splashed spring afternoon and more than 500 people in attendance.

The only thing missing from the recipe, it seemed, were race cars.

Steve Rackliff, of Starks, waits in his car to line up for a qualifying race Sunday at Unity Raceway. Staff photo by Travis Barrett

Race director Ed Bellows, of China, addresses drivers and crews during the pre-race meeting Sunday at Unity Raceway. Staff photo by Travis Barrett

Cars race under the flagstand during a qualifying race Sunday at Unity Raceway. Staff photo by Travis Barrett

A total of only 23 cars showed up to compete in one of the track's four regular divisions, including only six entries for the headlining 35-lap Wildcat feature race.

"Looks like we need 40 degrees and three feet of snow to get cars to come out," race director Ed Bellows of China joked to open the pre-race drivers' meeting prior to the start of the 2017 season at the state's oldest stock car racing facility.

"I have no idea (where the cars are). With the payout we had, I thought we'd have had at least 10 or 12 cars," said Jordan Pearson, of Corinth, after winning the Wildcat feature. "Hopefully, it will pick up. We'll see."

Pearson earned $350 for the victory, a strong purse for the Wildcat/Street Stock division at any track in Maine. Brad Norris of Ellsworth, the 2016 track champion in the division, said he heard of three or four cars that were planning on racing at Unity on Sunday but were either wrecked or had mechanical issues in need of repair after racing at Speedway 95 in Hermon on Saturday.

Track owner George Fernald acknowledged that Sunday dates are challenging for promoting a race track, particularly one that is only planning on running once a month through the summer.

"We were the last ones to race this week," Fernald said, noting both Speedway 95 and Wiscasset Speedway competed on Saturday. "I know that there's twice as many (cars) out there. We planned on 15 cars (in the Wildcats), but they just didn't come."

Fernald remained positive on a number of fronts, despite only four cars in each of the Flying 4 and the new 6 Shooter divisions. In building off a successful late winter addition to the schedule, in which Unity held three 100-lap Enduro races, there were 23 entry-level Enduro cars on hand for the final race of the afternoon.

"It's something to build on from here," said Fernald, who plans to make capital improvements to the facility between now and the next scheduled event on June 25. "We've got a full month off now, so we're anxious to do some work now that the racing is over."

Pearson started fourth in the Wildcat feature, but had the lead by the time the race restarted on lap four. When the polesitter Norris stumbled on the initial race start, outside polesitter Kyle Robinson — making his first career start in a Wildcat — drove around him on the outside to the lead. Pearson followed him around the high side.

Bob Seger Jr., who was debuting a car he brought to the track for the very first time Sunday, speed down low and motored his way into second place. But when he wiggled sideways underneath Robinson while trying to take the lead away, he took out Robinson and himself and handed the lead over to Pearson.

Pearson, restarting on the outside on the lap four restart, pulled clear by several car lengths and never looked back as the race went green to the finish. Norris, who had dropped all the way to fifth at the start, took second by the time the cars hit the backstretch.

Steve Rackliff of Starks finished third, taking advantage of Robinson's early retirement from the race and Seger battling handling issues the longer the race went on.

"The inside of the track was very, very dirty. If you got down there you were pretty much just holding weight," said Pearson, who won four races at Unity last season. "I got lucky that those two cars had that mess there. I got through it, and that was really the end right there."

Norris said he simply couldn't find any traction in the inside lane.

"It was wet and it was dirty. There was just no groove down there," said Norris, who plans on competing exclusively at Unity this season. "Usually, the inside's pretty good here. The last couple of years the high line's been a little bit better, but there was just nothing down there today."

Brian Sweatt won the 15-lap Flying 4 feature, while Jesse Dodge was victorious in the 15-lap 6 Shooter race.

For Dodge, of Fairfield, it was his first career win in any division after racing for the last three years. He believes the 6 Shooter class will grow this summer as it competes in its first season, utilizing truly stock cars with six-cylinder engines.

"My buddy and his dad, I've been using their garage to put the car together," Dodge said. "It's a cheap class. It's pretty reasonable. I'm a little surprised (there aren't more here), but I've heard of a bunch of people putting them together. It will grow."

Craig Landry and Mike Landry won the two Enduro division races.

Travis Barrett — 621-5621

[email protected]

Twitter: @TBarrettGWC

Source: Despite car count, Unity Raceway off to flying start

SkyDrive, the Japanese Flying Car That Caught Toyota’s Fancy

The team is working on a single-seater flying car.

When the creative team of Cartivator conceived the SkyDrive flying car project in one of its brainstorming sessions over four years ago, they never imagined that a tech giant like Toyota would agree to become one its investors.

Toyota assured them funding of 42.5 million yen (US$380,000) in the next three years to develop the SkyDrive to light the Olympic flame during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We may not have exactly imagined this, but we were certain we can make anything happen as long as we dream big and work hard towards our goal," Ryuntaro Mori, head of business planning of Cartivator, tells EFE.

Toyota's investment "represents one big momentum for young engineers to dream big and to make those dreams come true," he adds.

It will allow Cartivator "to spend more time on development, and less on worrying about the cost."

The "voluntary community, not company" of engineers, whose fundamental principle is to weave dreams for future generations, is planning to build a manned prototype by the end of 2018.

The close to 20 engineers from sectors such as automotive, aviation and information technology, who are a part of Cartivator, are from different Japanese companies, and all work on SkyDrive outside of their regular working hours.

Among the futuristic models, which large companies including Airbus and independent ones such as Netherland's PAL-V or Slovakia's AeroMobil – whose hybrid car and airplane are already available for pre-order in Europe – are seeking to develop, Cartivator's flying electric car claims to be the smallest and lightest.

The team began working on the project in September 2012, when in one of their first brainstorming sessions someone proposed developing flying cars.

The idea got the nod from the rest of the members immediately for being the "most exciting idea," the planning head said.

Over four years later, the team is working o n a single-seater flying car, 2.9 meters (9.5 feet) long, 1.3 meters (4 feet) wide and 1.1 meters (3.6 feet) high – that looks like a drone – with propellers in place of the wheels in a conventional car.

However, the Cartivator engineers, who also aim to launch a commercial model of the flying car in 2025, are aware that to enter the market it needs "to work hand in hand with regulatory agencies."

According to Mori, however, while it's too early to publicly discuss the details of their first commercial model, they would love "to see people from across the world benefiting from this new form of mobility."

Source: SkyDrive, the Japanese Flying Car That Caught Toyota's Fancy

Toyota to launch flying car

Toyota is working to launch a flying car for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.


The company is giving about 42.5 million yen (S$530,000) to the Cartivator project, which is developing the three-wheeled sci-fi car that relies on drone technology to take flight.

The manned vehicle, dubbed SkyDrive, will have four sets of propellers.

At 2.9m long and 1.3m wide, the car is expected to reach up to 100kmh, hovering some 10m off the ground.

- AFP

Source: Toyota to launch flying car

The No.1 reason Uber's flying car is just a fantasy

Another major tech downdraft for flying cars is heat. Batteries, as everyone knows, get hot when you use them. And, unfortunately, the more power you draw from them over a shorter time period, the hotter they get. That's why your smartphone is hotter after watching a video than after a phone call of the same duration – watching video requires more energy.

The kind of short-burst energy needed to lift vehicle, batteries and humans skyward will produce enough heat to raise the battery pack temperature above safe levels for all kinds of components.

Unfortunately, most cooling systems for heat generating components are active systems that rely on pumping around liquids – the way the water pump, coolant tanks and a radiator keep a car engine cool. But that's a double-whammy for flying vehicles because active systems require energy to work – putting more stress on the battery – and are heavy – requiring more energy to lift.

The other option, passive cooling systems, have their own issues. Passive systems usually work by drawing heat away from a source and spreading it out to cool – most often across copper or aluminum plates. Passive systems to cool hot batteries in flying cars will require large surface area and, again, the added weight of lifting metal cooling plates off the ground.

To work, we will need much smaller, much lighter cooling solutions such as carbon fiber – one of solutions under development and study by NASA – which also has real issues with lifting batteries into flight and keeping them cool. (Disclosure – my company, KULR Technology, is the development partner with NASA on passive carbon fiber cooling solutions).

Finally, the batteries we have now just aren't safe enough.

Although it's rare, lithium-ion batteries fail. When they do, they create amazing levels of heat, fire and chemical gas discharges. With billions in use every day, this occurs somewhere regularly, occasionally with catastrophic consequences.

When battery failure happens in your cell phone, for example, your phone melts. That's a single battery cell. Just about everything larger than a smartphone – from laptops to cars – requires multi-cell battery packs – often 50 or 100 or more cells tightly packed together. Given the likely energy requirements of flying cars, they require thousands of battery cells in hundreds of packs.

When a lithium-ion battery fails in a multi-cell battery pack, it triggers its neighboring cells to fail too – a condition known as thermal runaway propagation. Think of it like a forest fire. It may start with one tree, but it spreads from tree to tree very quickly.

In thermal runaway propagation, things don't just melt, they explode. Violently. Watch this video of a multi-cell battery pack blowing apart a NASA test robot. Now imagine that in a flying car. That's why the Federal Aviation Administration has issued repeated, strict guidelines about even transporting multi-cell lithium-ion batteries, let alone using them in flight.

But it's actually worse than that.

We know that doing certain types of things to lithium-ion batteries makes them more likely to fail and trigger thermal runaway. Repeated cycling – charging and draining the battery, especially at high speed – is a danger. So is drawing excessive power from the battery in short bursts. Repeated bumps, lumps and physical damage to a battery can also make it more likely to fail.

Given that flying cars are likely to require high-energy, fast charging batteries and activities such as takeoff and landing are likely to draw massive power quickly, we'd be exposing batteries in flying cars to some of the very conditions that make them more likely to fail.

Maybe you can't tell, but as someone who works in emerging battery technology, I'm actually an optimist. When it comes to batteries, I think we'll get there – but we're at least five years away from demo stage and even further away from mass market. Making a flying car a reality requires more than a sense of knowing where we'd like to go - it requires knowing where we are.

Commentary by Michael Mo, the co-founder and CEO of KULR Technology, which develops carbon fiber cooling solutions for energy and technology. He has a master's in electrical engineering from University of California Santa Barbara and is a veteran business leader and investor in technology companies.

Disclosure: KULR Technology, is the development partner with NASA on passive carbon fiber cooling solutions.

Follow CNBC's Opinion section on Twitter @CNBCopinion.

Source: The No.1 reason Uber's flying car is just a fantasy

How Awesome Would It Be To Have A Flying Car Light The Olympic Flame At The 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

by Kirby Garlitos , on May 17, 2017, 14:00

The thought of seeing a flying car remains a figment of the imagination for a lot of people. But that's not the case to a group of people that make up Cartivator, a collection of Toyota employees who work on their free time to develop a flying car. The group has been relentless in its pursuit of developing the technology that can pave the way for a flying car to become a reality. They've gotten minimal support since their collective started in 2012, but with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Cartivator just landed a big ally from its mothership.

Previously ambivalent to the thought of flying cars, Toyota has reversed course by throwing its support behind Cartivator and providing roughly 40 million yen, or about $352,982, to the group to get its research off the ground, no pun intended. The Japanese automaker's contribution to Cartivator's cause is a huge stimulant to the group's goal, which had previously relied on private individuals and online crowdfunding to generate financing. While there are still a number of obstacles to be cleared, Cartivator's research and development has progressed to the point that it's already developing a prototype for a manned test flight by the end of 2018. With Toyota's help, the objective now shifts to getting a flying car off the ground in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to serve the singular purpose of lighting the Olympic flame. Seems like a reasonable goal, don't you think?

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Toyota's involvement is a big step in the right direction

As somebody who once dreamt of driving a flying car, I will never dismiss any project that tries to turn those dreams into reality. My expectations have obviously shifted but I still root for people and companies who push forward into achieving what many have deemed impossible for so long. Hearing about Toyota getting on board a project started by its own employees is a huge step in that direction, not because the Japanese automaker has had a change in perspective, but more because it's now putting in the money and the support to get the project up and running. Even Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada has been convinced of Cartivator's goal, telling the Nikkei Asian Review that "things will not progress if you wait and provide money only when the technology is ready."

"The group says that it already has the design of its flying car called "SkyDrive" and that it plans to show off its creation in July 2017"

The more important question now is whether Cartivator can achieve its goals in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To that end, the group says that it already has the design of its flying car called "SkyDrive" and that it plans to show off its creation in July 2017. That's in the next two months if any of you have a calendar nearby. The car itself seats only a single person in a bubble-like canopy with the sides completely open. It features a tricycle layout with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear to allow for land travel and four rotors on each of the corners that make it possible for the car to get off the ground and take flight. The group has yet to give any concrete details as far as performance numbers go, but it did say that it's targeting the SkyDrive to have the capacity to have a top speed of 93 mph on land and as much as 62 mph in the air.

"It's targeting the SkyDrive to have the capacity to have a top speed of 93 mph on land and as much as 62 mph in the air."

Even with the modest numbers attributed to the SkyDrive, the actual task of getting a flying car up and running is still littered with enough complications and roadblocks to make less dedicated people throw up their arms in surrender. Between safety concerns, government issues, licensing frameworks, and general traffic rules in the air, don't expect to see Jetsonian flying cars anytime soon.

The good news is that even with all these issues, a lot of companies, including Toyota, now deem it possible. Airbus, for example, has test flights planned for its flying car prototype this year. Uber has also announced plans to launch flying taxi services and even small start-ups like Cartivator and the Larry Page-backed Kitty Hawk are now dreaming of one day getting to the skies in a car.

I'm tempted to say that it's only a matter of time before we see flying cars, but I won't out of respect to the difficulty of breaking into this new frontier. I am optimistic though that it could still happen, especially now when major companies like Toyota are finally getting on board. Takeshi Uchimayada is right when he said what he said. If you want to see progress in this field, don't wait until the technology is ready to put money into it because if you do, you're basically waiting for nothing.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

Source: How Awesome Would It Be To Have A Flying Car Light The Olympic Flame At The 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

Toyota Hopes to Use a Flying Car to Light the 2020 Olympic Flame

 Added on May 16, 2017  The News Wheel  Cartivator , crowdfunding , Flying Car , Olympic Flame , Olympic Games , Skydrive , Tokyo 2020

Toyota is really invested in showing off Japanese technology for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We already know of the fuel cell busses it will use during the games as well as the hybrid boat it has been developing; now Toyota has revealed what is probably the most interesting piece of engineering so far: a "flying car."

It will be called the Skydrive and if you are wondering why "flying car" is within quotation marks, that would be because it would be a bit of a stretch to call it an actual flying car; rather, it seems to be a large drone that somewhat resembles a car. We doubt it would carry any passengers.

Skydrive will not be built by Toyota but rather by Cartivator, a group that operates outside Toyota city in central Japan. Toyota and its group companies have agreed to support the project with 40 million yen ($354,000), which had so far relied on crowfunding for development.

Car Buying Tips: Should you buy new or used?

Thirty volunteers are currently working on the Skydrive car. It measures 9.5 feet by 4.3 feet and has a projected top flight speed of 62 miles per hour while traveling up to 33 feet off the ground. It's very unlikely anybody will be riding inside it, which we would assume to be a requirement for calling it a car.

Still, whether you call it a flying car or a car-like drone, it's a cool project that may serve an even cooler purpose: Toyota and the people working on Skydrive hope that in 2020, the prototype will be used to light the Olympic flame to kick off the summer games. Now wouldn't that be something?

Fresh Out of College? Make use of Toyota's college graduate rebate

Source: Cartivator

Source: Toyota Hopes to Use a Flying Car to Light the 2020 Olympic Flame

Are flying cars for real?

Imagine a flying car. Does it look like a fancy sports car with foldable wings? Or a Jet Ski-like craft that seems to float above water?

These aren't make-believe.

That sports car/plane combo is called the AeroMobil Flying Car. The latest model — which can be ready to fly in less than three minutes — was previewed recently with a promised arrival of 2020. The vehicle zooming above water has a name, too: the Kitty Hawk Flyer, an all-electric creation expected by year's end.

These are two of more than a dozen present-day plans.

What's driving this sky-high frenzy?

"Technology has changed," says Dorothy Cochrane, a general-aviation curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. "The ultimate design of a flying car is going to be so much different than what people were trying to do for years."

After all, soaring automobiles are almost a century-old fantasy.

What's different now, says Coch­rane, is that today's creations use lighter materials than metal, don't rely on heavy engines and are more high-tech.

Even so, there are roadblocks. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the nation's air traffic, would need

to figure out what to do with them. They're also expensive. The AeroMobil Flying Car will sell for more than $1 million, making it more of a status symbol than a practical way to travel.

But that's not to say that flying cars will always be limited to people with a lot of money. Just think, less personal gadget and more flying taxi.

The app-driven car service Uber wants to create an on-demand network of electric vehicles that can take off and land vertically (called VTOLs) that could be used for regular daily trips, such as going to work. Early versions would use pilots before advances in technology allow them to operate themselves. Tests would start in 2020.

That is, if the machines exist.

By presenting this goal, Uber hopes to motivate inventors to, well, invent them.

And although past dreamers needed to continually persuade supporters to help pay for their projects, that's not necessarily so for today's crop. Creators of the Kitty Hawk Flyer, for instance, have gotten support from Google co-founder and billionaire Larry Page, who has given money to flying-car projects for the past seven years.

"It was easy just 10 years ago to say, 'Never going to happen,' " Coch­rane says. "Now I'm not going to say that anymore."

Source: Are flying cars for real?

Toyota Motor backs flying car project that its young employees are voluntarily working on

World's first commercially-available flying car now available to order Aeromobil

Toyota Motor is backing a group of young employees who have been voluntarily working on a project to develop a flying car.

The project, led by a group called Cartivator started in 2012 when project leader Tsubasa Nakamura won a business contest. Its members, numbering 30 over give their time voluntarily to work on the project, the Nikkei Asian Review said.

The car maker is not the only one backing the group. Cartivator has also received support from two other people - Masafumi Miwa, a drone expert and associate professor of mechanical engineering at Tokushima University and Taizo Son, the founder of GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese online video game developer.

Cartivator, which has so far been reliant on crowdfunding and other means to finance its activity, will receive 40m yen (£274,00, $353,00) from the car maker.

Prototype ready by end 2018

A prototype ready for a manned test flight is expected by the end of 2018, with a target to commercialise a flying car in 2020, to fall in conjunction with the Olympics being hosted in Tokyo, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.

This however, is not the first time that the flying car idea has been mooted.

At the Top Marques supercar show in Monaco in April, the world's first commercially-available flying car was unveiled. The car, called Flying Car is by Slovakian company AeroMobil. The company claims that the vehicle is able to transform from a car to an aeroplane in less than three minutes and can travel either 700km (435 miles) on the road or 750km in the air at 75% of its top speed.

And PAL-V International has started the commercial sales of its two-seater hybrid vehicle in February with production expected to star this summer. The £255,000 twin-engine vehicle can hit nearly 100mph on the road or up to 112mph in the air.

The Nikkei Asian Review noted that Larry Page, the co-founder of Google is backing Kitty Hawk, a UK startup that hopes to commercialise the Flyer.

Airbus, on the other hand plans to start test flights of a flying car in 2017 while Uber Technologies has already announced in April plans for flying taxi services.

Source: Toyota Motor backs flying car project that its young employees are voluntarily working on

Toyota decides flying cars aren't so crazy after all

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor has decided to finance a flying car project that some of its young employees have been voluntarily working on.

Flying cars are drawing a lot of attention these days, with U.S. startups and aircraft makers increasingly deciding to enter the sector. Amid heated competition to develop next-generation mobility, flight is rapidly emerging as a promising answer.

The project is led by a group called Cartivator. It all started in 2012 when project leader Tsubasa Nakamura won a business contest -- not an internal one. Its 30-odd members donate their free time. They have also received some outside help -- from Masafumi Miwa, a drone expert and associate professor of mechanical engineering at Tokushima University, and Taizo Son, founder of GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese online video game developer.

Toyota and its group companies have agreed, in principle, to provide some 40 million yen ($352,982) to Cartivator, which has so far relied on online crowdfunding and other means for financing.

Members of the flying car project from Toyota Motor and others work on a prototype at a closed elementary school in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. (Photo by Masayuki Kozono)

Close

Members of the flying car project from Toyota Motor and others work on a prototype at a closed elementary school in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. (Photo by Masayuki Kozono)

The group plans to develop a prototype for a manned test flight by the end of 2018. To that end, it will work to develop technology to control propellers to stabilize the vehicle. The group hopes to commercialize a flying car in 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics.

Cars are more convenient than ever. But they still pollute, and traffic congestion is quite fierce in many cities. Solutions are arriving in the shape of electric and fuel cell vehicles as well as self-driving cars.

But those drivers stuck in traffic, well, their imaginations have seized on a fundamentally new solution to their jam.

If roads are no longer needed, congestion would disappear. Flying cars that could take off vertically would dramatically change the flow of people and traffic.

We are not talking pie in the sky here. Kitty Hawk, a U.S. startup backed by Larry Page, co-founder of Google, hopes to commercialize the Flyer. Airbus, the European aircraft maker, has said it plans to begin test flights of a flying car this year. Uber Technologies, which has already given us a new way to get around with its ride-hailing app, in April announced plans to launch flying taxi services.

Before drivers become flyers, however, many hurdles have to be cleared. Safety issues will have to be addressed. New laws, a licensing system and traffic rules will have to be adopted. But as more companies like Toyota give momentum to the flying car, proper legal frameworks can be expected to follow.

It has not been easy for the Cartivator project to get this far. Toyota's brass had been reluctant to give it any meaningful backing. But the automaker has been gradually opening itself to new ideas. In November 2015, it decided to set up a fund to invest in technology startups. Last year, it established a research and development center in the U.S. dedicated to artificial intelligence, welcoming an outside expert. On Wednesday, it announced a plan to invest a near record 1.05 trillion yen in research and development in the current fiscal year, through next March.

Flying cars? There are crazier ideas. Anyway, "future cars may look totally different from today's cars," a Toyota executive said.

Toyota took the plunge, a person familiar with the matter said, because Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada decided "things will not progress if you wait and provide money only when the technology is ready."

Source: Toyota decides flying cars aren't so crazy after all

Uber's head of aviation talks about its plan for air transport. (Just don't call it a flying car.)

Long-held dreams of science fiction fans to fly around town may be inching closer to reality.

A handful of companies recently revealed plans to make personal aircraft. And last month Uber Technologies Inc. discussed its plan to offer an on-demand air transportation system.

The San Francisco ride-hailing firm envisions customers hailing a car ride to a "vertiport," located perhaps atop a parking structure. An electrically powered aircraft would ferry passengers to another vertiport for a connection with another Uber ground vehicle.

A rendering of a vertical takeoff and landin g vehicle and a "vertiport" for Uber's planned on-demand air-transportation system. (Uber)

The company has already partnered with five companies that are developing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, as well as a firm that develops electric vehicle charging systems. At a summit last month in Dallas, Uber said it plans to start tests in 2020 in that city and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a goal of initial operations by 2023.

Leading Uber's effort is Mark Moore, a NASA veteran who was one year away from retirement eligibility when he decided to take the job of director of aviation engineering at Uber. Moore spent his NASA career researching advanced aircraft, with a focus on electric propulsion.

Here is an edited version of our discussion with Moore.

Why come to Uber at this point in your career?

I was at NASA for 32 years, and the entire time I developed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the technologies and concepts.

The last eight yea rs in particular I have focused on distributed electric propulsion technologies applied to VTOL aircraft and successfully demonstrated and developed three different flight demonstrators. So it was clear to me that the time was right to actually apply these technologies to a commercial market and that they were ready to move forward.

Can you describe what these aircraft would look like? I've seen them compared to helicopters.

These are not going to look like helicopters. A helicopter has a single main rotor above the vehicle. For these new aircraft, all of them are using what's called distributed electric propulsion — instead of having one rotor, they have a bunch of smaller prop rotors which provide the lift.

Some are referring to these as "flying cars."

I hate the term "flying car" because it's so misrepresentative. I understand the public embraces it, so I'm willing to tolerate it, but these new aircraft aren't cars. And we have no intent of ever lett ing them be on the roadways.

These aircraft will be traveling between 150 and 200 miles per hour in the air. The last thing you'd want is to put this expensive, fast aircraft down on the ground in traffic that's going 20 miles per hour.

How is Uber addressing safety concerns?

By designing these aircraft in a redundant fashion with multiple propulsors, multiple engines and multiple controllers, we can fail any single part and, in many parts of the aircraft, multiple parts, and it's still able to fly and land in a controllable fashion. The minimum number [of propellers] to be able to have one of them fail and still fly safely is six.

A second layer of safety ... is that all these vehicles will be equipped with what's called a ballistic recovery system — a parachute — so that if some very rare event o ccurs, the vehicle is able to deploy a parachute and be able to land the occupants on the ground safely.

This technology has been applied to general aviation aircraft, but couldn't be applied to helicopters because it has that one large rotor overhead. For our new electric VTOL, we don't have that one big rotor so we're able to easily deploy this.

Let's talk about how ride-sharing relates to cost.

Ride-sharing is absolutely essential for the economics to work. That's absolutely essential so these electric VTOL aircraft can be operated with what's called a high load factor — so that they're always full of people.

How will this be affordable?

These electric VTOL aircraft are using 10 times less energy than helicopters today, so that energy cost is radically lower.

Also, the maintenance cost is much lower than helicopters because, again, we don't have any one single-fault parts. If you look at helicopter operations, they have to do really frequent inspections of those fault-critical parts to make sure the vehicle is always safe to fly. If we don't have any single-failure parts, then we're able to decrease the maintenance tremendously.

Another factor is these vehicles are highly productive. They're operating at a speed six times faster than cars on the ground, so they're able to operate at a higher utilization, over many more hours, than a typical car or a typical helicopter.

[Moore said exact prices won't be determined until operations begin, but the initial per-mile operating cost would be similar to the price a consumer pays today for UberX — between $1.30 and $1.80. As the aircraft fleet increases and network operations get more efficient, he said, costs could drop.]

What about the cost of a pilot?

The most expensive cost is the pilot for these trips, and that is one of the reasons why we're pushing toward the future being an autonomous self-flying aircraft. Also, we feel that as the software and the autonomy are proven out, that can be a safer solution than human pilots.

What's the timeline for autonomy?

We're designing the autonomy into the aircraft from the beginning so that it can be in the background and available and assisting the pilot so that he has a reduced workload.

Right from the beginning, we can be collecting information from every single flight on whether that software is ready to fly the vehicle itself. That lets us just build it into the background and constantly be learning and updating the software.

The FAA is absolutely going to require this, and that we can prove the autonomy is safe by statistically showing them extensive data over hundreds of thousands to millions of hours of operation before we attempt to remove the pilot.

How would you respond to those who say Uber's timeline is too aggressive?

I don't think that's aggressive. It's certainly moving at a rapid pace. To be clear, in 2020, we'll be operating experime ntal aircraft in the relevant environment of [Dallas] to prove out that they are quiet enough, safe enough and that the public will accept it. It will not be operational fleets — it will be early test flights that are limited and not passenger service.

I'm positive that it's very doable and in a very safe fashion.

Source: Uber's head of aviation talks about its plan for air transport. (Just don't call it a flying car.)

Techly Explains: Will we ever have flying cars?

Uber has shaken up the taxi industry and is trying to put driverless cars on our roads. Now the company aims to have flying ride-sharing vehicles in our skies by 2020.

Uber is not alone in working towards flying cars. But is this realistic, or just marketing hype?

To many of us, the concept of flying cars is synonymous with the future, just like silver jumpsuits and gourmet food in the form of a pill. Those dreams have not yet materialised so what about flying cars?

How is this a car?

The classic idea of a flying car was just that: a car that could somehow fly.

Filmed in the 1940s in Italy, a propeller driven automobile that flies makes its first test flight.

In fiction, the author Ian Fleming was a fan of flying cars, writing his novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang around the concept in 1963. He also included a flying car in his James Bond novel (1964) and subsequent film, The Man with The Golden Gun. These concepts are based on a car with wheels that can drive on the road but is also capable of flying when required.

Science fiction writers and directors have often dispensed with the need to have future vehicles ever drive on the road. Instead, the "cars" are simply small aircraft such as the one Anakin Skywalker used in the Star Wars film Attack of the Clones.

The recent flying car announcements vary in type from single-seat, multi-copter drone-type aircraft, to road-style cars that turn into light aircraft and small flying boats that hover above the water.

It would appear that almost any small flying vehicle capable of transporting a person is now referred to as a flying car. But clearly they are really just a kind of small aircraft.

How safe?

Any potential passenger will want to know: "How safe is this contraption?"

The likely answer right now is "not very safe", as with all early-stage technology. Companies are working feverishly to make their aircraft "safe enough" in the hope of convincing regulators and governments that the vehicles can be entrusted with human lives.

But there are incredible safety challenges. One of the biggest is what to do when things go badly wrong.

With a normal car, you can often just slow to a halt and stop. But a flying car might fall out of the sky, killing not only its occupants but potentially bystanders too.

Ehang's flying taxi for Dubai.

The Chinese company Ehang is proposing to equip its flying car service in Dubai with a parachute. This service will apparently take a single occupant from the roof of one Dubai skyscraper to the roof of another.

Should the parachute deploy, it is not clear whether the vehicle will have any way to control where it lands, or how safely.

In the existing aviation industry, much of the mechanics of flying is automated. Given the challenges of a person flying compared to driving a car, and the efforts to reduce human error in aviation, there is even more likelihood of flying cars becoming automated so that no human pilot is needed.

But there will be differences between existing aviation practice and flying cars. Passenger jet air travel owes much of its impressive safety record to improvements in aircraft maintenance procedures and our understanding of failures. It is unlikely that the business case for small flying cars will allow for such rigorous practices.

Instead, flying cars will be less complex than modern jets, and the latest demonstrators show exactly that.

The use of large numbers of small electric motors, such as in the Lilium all-electric aircraft, reduces the maintenance complexity drastically. It also provides an inbuilt measure of redundancy in case one motor fails.

The Lilium electric aircraft. How fast, how far?

Wouldn't it be great to avoid the traffic and public transport congestion of our major cities? We think so.

For example, it currently takes 23 minutes to drive the 19km from our offices in Brisbane to the domestic airport, when traffic is freely flowing.

If we could fly from our office roof (and there is a pad on our roof that is ideally suited to deploying a flying car), the trip would only take 8 minutes.

We'd get a double boost, first from flying at an average speed of (say) 100kmh, and second by taking the straightest path, a mere 13km.

Drive or fly? Source: 123rf.com/Egudinka/Google/Michael Milford

This example journey is well within the capabilities of the flying cars being demonstrated today.

Of course it may be that authorities mandate that we stick to flight corridors reserved for flying cars, so a direct route is not always an option. These corridors may be strategically located over low-risk areas of land that have minimal population.

How easy?

There are lots of things about flying cars that are hard, but some problems may become easier.

There is a lot more space available for cars when you when you have access to three dimensions for travel, as long as the navigation challenges are solved.

Using the several hundred metres of space above the ground means you can potentially have a lot less traffic congestion. You also don't need to build and maintain expensive road infrastructure.

For self-driving flying cars, moving into the sky actually makes some aspects of planning and traffic control easier.

There's a lot more space in the sky. 123rf.com/Ostapenko, Tele52/Michael Milford How much?

It is too early to know how the economics of flying cars will work.

Given the huge regulatory hurdles, the safety issues to overcome, and the lack of special infrastructure to support flying cars (such as take-off and landing areas and charging points for the all-electric aircraft), it is difficult to estimate what a trip should cost.

The current non-flying car ride-sharing companies such as Uber appear to be operating at a massive loss.

The price paid by the consumer in an Uber vehicle is reported to be on average less than half the actual cost of the trip, but the company is hoping to recoup some of these costs by implementing driverless cars. Given that there's even more chance that flying cars will be driverless, maybe the economics will be favourable.

What would a consumer be willing to pay to possibly get to their destination in half the time? There's at least one famous historical example in Concorde that posed that same question, and had safety issues. Sadly, its supersonic passenger flights are not available any more.

How long the before I can fly to work?

There is still so much to do before flying cars can become common. The technology has come a long way, mainly due to the rapid development of drones. But the technology of the flying machine itself is just one part of a very complex system.

Like ground-based self-driving cars, it's likely that if they ever happen, flying cars will occur in certain priority areas first.

Imagine a cheaper but still expensive option for high-level executives, such as the Dubai proposal.

For the rest of us, we may already be walking around in silver jumpsuits and eating meals in a pill before we get to ride in a flying car.

Jonathan Roberts, Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of Technology and Michael Milford, Associate professor, Queensland University of Technology

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Source: Techly Explains: Will we ever have flying cars?

The Future of Flying Cars: Science Fact or Science Fiction? – Singularity Hub

Uber has shaken up the taxi industry and is trying to put driverless cars on our roads. Now the company aims to have flying ride-sharing vehicles in our skies by 2020.

Uber is not alone in working towards flying cars. But is this realistic, or just marketing hype?

To many of us, the concept of flying cars is synonymous with the future, just like silver jumpsuits and gourmet food in the form of a pill. Those dreams have not yet materialized, so what about flying cars?

How is this a car?

The classic idea of a flying car was just that: a car that could somehow fly.

In fiction, the author Ian Fleming was a fan of flying cars, writing his novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang around the concept in 1963. He also included a flying car in his James Bond novel (1964) and subsequent film, The Man with The Golden Gun. These concepts are based on a car with wheels that can drive on the road but is also capable of flying when required.

Science fiction writers and directors have often dispensed with the need to have future vehicles ever drive on the road. Instead, the "cars" are simply small aircraft such as the one Anakin Skywalker used in the Star Wars film Attack of the Clones.

The recent flying car announcements vary in type from single-seat, multi-copter drone-type aircraft, to road-style cars that turn into light aircraft and small flying boats that hover above the water.

It would appear that almost any small flying vehicle capable of transporting a person is now referred to as a flying car. But clearly, they are really just a kind of small aircraft.

How safe?

Any potential passenger will want to know: "How safe is this contraption?"

The likely answer right now is "not very safe," as with all early-stage technology. Companies are working feverishly to make their aircraft "safe enough" in the hope of convincing regulators and governments that the vehicles can be entrusted with human lives.

But there are incredible safety challenges. One of the biggest is what to do when things go badly wrong.

With a normal car, you can often just slow to a halt and stop. But a flying car might fall out of the sky, killing not only its occupants but potentially bystanders too.

The Chinese company Ehang is proposing to equip its flying car service in Dubai with a parachute. This service will apparently take a single occupant from the roof of one Dubai skyscraper to the roof of another.

Should the parachute deploy, it is not clear whether the vehicle will have any way to control where it lands, or how safely.

In the existing aviation industry, much of the mechanics of flying is automated. Given the challenges of a person flying compared to driving a car, and the efforts to reduce human error in aviation, there is even more likelihood of flying cars becoming automated so that no human pilot is needed.

But there will be differences between existing aviation practice and flying cars. Passenger jet air travel owes much of its impressive safety record to improvements in aircraft maintenance procedures and our understanding of failures. It is unlikely that the business case for small flying cars will allow for such rigorous practices.

Instead, flying cars will be less complex than modern jets, and the latest demonstrators show exactly that.

The use of large numbers of small electric motors, such as in the Lilium all-electric aircraft, reduces the maintenance complexity drastically. It also provides an inbuilt measure of redundancy in case one motor fails.

The Lilium electric aircraft. How fast, how far?

Wouldn't it be great to avoid the traffic and public transport congestion of our major cities? We think so.

For example, it currently takes 23 minutes to drive the 19km from our offices in Brisbane to the domestic airport when traffic is freely flowing.

If we could fly from our office roof (and there is a pad on our roof that is ideally suited to deploying a flying car), the trip would only take 8 minutes.

We'd get a double boost, first from flying at an average speed of (say) 100kmh, and second by taking the straightest path, a mere 13km.

Drive or fly? Source: 123rf.com/Egudinka/Google/Michael Milford

This example journey is well within the capabilities of the flying cars being demonstrated today.

Of course, it may be that authorities mandate we stick to flight corridors reserved for flying cars, so a direct route is not always an option. These corridors may be strategically located over low-risk areas of land that have minimal population.

How easy?

There are lots of things about flying cars that are hard, but some problems may become easier.

There is a lot more space available for cars when you have access to three dimensions for travel, as long as the navigation challenges are solved.

Using the several hundred meters of space above the ground means you can potentially have a lot less traffic congestion. You also don't need to build and maintain expensive road infrastructure.

For self-driving flying cars, moving into the sky actually makes some aspects of planning and traffic control easier.

There's a lot more space in the sky. 123rf.com/Ostapenko, Tele52/Michael Milford How much?

It is too early to know how the economics of flying cars will work.

Given the huge regulatory hurdles, the safety issues to overcome, and the lack of special infrastructure to support flying cars (such as take-off and landing areas and charging points for the all-electric aircraft), it is difficult to estimate what a trip should cost.

The current non-flying car ride-sharing companies such as Uber appear to be operating at a massive loss.

The price paid by the consumer in an Uber vehicle is reported to be on average less than half the actual cost of the trip, but the company is hoping to recoup some of these costs by implementing driverless cars. Given that there's even more chance that flying cars will be driverless, maybe the economics will be favorable.

What would a consumer be willing to pay to possibly get to their destination in half the time? There's at least one famous historical example in Concorde that posed that same question, and had safety issues. Sadly, its supersonic passenger flights are not available any more.

How long before I can fly to work?

There is still so much to do before flying cars can become common. The technology has come a long way, mainly due to the rapid development of drones. But the technology of the flying machine itself is just one part of a very complex system.

Like ground-based self-driving cars, it's likely that if they ever happen, flying cars will occur in certain priority areas first.

Imagine a cheaper but still expensive option for high-level executives, such as the Dubai proposal.

For the rest of us, we may already be walking around in silver jumpsuits and eating meals in a pill before we get to ride in a flying car.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Pavel Chagochkin

Source: Google News Science

Source: The Future of Flying Cars: Science Fact or Science Fiction? – Singularity Hub