PAL-V's flying car may hit Indian market

PAL-V Europe NV, which is developing a three-wheeled flying car, said it would launch the vehicle in India in two to three years and people in the country can reserve a vehicle from the limited edition now.

The company said it has received interests from government institutions, hospitals and the tourism sector. "Companies like the Sahara Group in Mumbai have shown interest in using PAL-V's for tourist mobility and sightseeing applications. Driving and flying with one vehicle opens up a complete new set of applications people until now could only dream of," said Robert Dingemanse, chief executive officer, PAL-V Europe NV.

The Netherlands-based company recently bagged a patent in India for a personal land and air vehicle (PAL-V), a vehicle that can fly and ply on roads.

Dingemanse said first deliveries outside Europe were expected to be in 2018-2019. The expected price in Europe was €499,000 (excluding taxes). That works to about Rs 3.79 crore, if converted at Rs 75.71 a euro.

The company will commence certifying and introduction of the vehicle once it finalises the certification in Europe, expected in the beginning of 2018. The company was also planning to launch in India and people can reserve a vehicle for India now. First deliveries are expected in 2018 or 2019, said Dingemanse.

The company will import the vehicles from the Netherlands initially and will have very limited supply for the first three to five years.

"We only have a maximum of 5 available for India of the limited edition version," said Dingemanse, adding that the company would work with local companies for sales a nd maintenance. Only 90 pieces would be available worldwide.

The company has started talks for a partner in India. "We have serious interest from a number of companies in India but we cannot disclose names yet," he said.

On regulatory compliance, Dingemanse said the vehicle was built within the regulatory framework in Europe, the US and many other countries.

Source: PAL-V's flying car may hit Indian market

PAL-V: You can fly or drive this amazing car!

The three-wheeled vehicle, with foldable rotor blades that can be extended when it needs to fly, can go up to a maximum speed of 170 km/h on road with zero to 100 km/h in ten seconds, and an estimated fuel economy of 12 km per litre.

Image: The car car made its successful maiden flight in The Netherlands in 2012. Photographs, courtesy: PAL-V Europe NV

Those who were amused by the flying car that knocked at the window of Harry Potter in J K Rowling's famous fantasy series, can now look forward to a real flying car knocking at their door in the future.

The Netherlands-based PAL-V Europe NV has bagged a patent in India for the Personal Land and Air Vehicle (PAL-V), a flying car that can also run on roads.

The car made its successful maiden flight in The Netherlands in 2012 and the company has been developing PAL-V One, a two-seat hybrid car and gyroplane with the convenience of fully integrated door-to-door transportation.

It can be driven to the nearest airfield and then take off just like any other airplane.

The three-wheeled vehicle, with foldable rotor blades that can be extended when it needs to fly, can go up to a maximum speed of 170 km/h on road with zero to 100 km/h in ten seconds, and an estimated fuel economy of 12 km per litre.

In its flight performance, it can move up to a maximum speed of 180 km/h and minimum speed for level flight at 50 km/h.

The take-off roll can happen at 165 metres and the landing roll is around 30 metres, while the estimated fuel economy is 28 l/h, according to the target specifications.

When airborne, it usually flies below 4,000 feet (1,200 m), the airspace available for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic and thus, there will be no interference from commercial air traffic.

Furthermore, the PAL-V ONE is powered by a robust, flight certified aircraft engine, claims the company.

The company, in the patent specifications with the Indian Patent Office, explains that the vehicle has a rotor with foldable rotor blades and the rotor is mounted on a rotor support that is capable of displacement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

In flying mode, the rotor blades are extended, and the centre of the rotor is located above the mass centre of the vehicle.

In riding mode, the rotor blades are folded such that they extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, while the centre of the rotor is displaced towards the front end or rear end of the vehicle.

The Patent Office, Kolkata, after considering various claims and amendments following objections raised by the examiner, ordered that the amended claims are found as novel, non obvious according to The Patents Act and the patent is granted.

While getting a patent does not mean that the vehicle could be launched in India in near future, it gives the company exclusivity in terms of the technology in the country.

An email sent to PAL-V Europe seeking its comment and future plans did not elicit any response.

The company officials, in a BBC report in 2012, had said that apart from individual buyers, it is also expecting the vehicle to be used during military and emergency services.

The idea of a flying car, in various shapes and sizes, has been fascinating the human kind for several decades, and many might have seen it in the sci-fi movies, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Back to the Future series, among others. 

Various automobile manufacturers, including the auto major Toyota, have also been working on the technology to make it real, according to reports.

A vehicle of a similar type invented by PAL-V Europe has been described in the German patent documents, but a disadvantage of this vehicle is that it has fixed wings that must be attached before flying, and must be detached after flying in order to be capable of road traffic.

The wings and the propeller must be left at the airport, and the vehicle must return to this airport for the next flight.

This makes the transition from land-vehicle to air-vehicle and back a complicated operation, which is not attractive to the user, says the company.

According to reports last year, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, has filed a patent in the United States for a "stackable wing for an aerocar", pertaining to a vehicle that can be flown as a fixed wing aircraft and driven as a land vehicle. 

Image: Terrafugia has been developing Transition, a two-place, fixed wing street legal aircraft that fits in a single car garage. Photograph, courtesy: Terrafugia

US-based Terrafugia, founded in 2006, is another player that has been developing Transition, a two-place, fixed wing street legal aircraft that fits in a single car garage and is designed to be flown in and out of general aviation airports and a TF-X, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) hybrid electric vehicle for personal travel in the flying car industry, says the company website.

Reports indicate that one of the front runners in the flying car market would be Slovakian firm AeroMobil, which has come out with the attractive upgraded prototype AeroMobil 3.0.

Image: Slovakian firm AeroMobil has come out with an attractive prototype, AeroMobil 3.0. Photograph, courtesy: AeroMobil

It is expected to be launched by 2017. The car, which has wings that can be folded like a wing of an insect, is straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Another flying car in the development is Moller International's Skycar, a VTOL aircraft that looks more like an aircraft and can transport four people.

Bengaluru-based electrical engineer A K Vishwanath has also been developing a flying car model, which he calls Avishcar, with a technology that can be retrofitted into any car and make it fly, say earlier reports. 

However, it would take a long while for these companies to make such vehicles commercially viable for the masses, considering various aspects, including the cost, safety, regulations and other practical reasons.

For instance, these cars are likely to come with a hefty price tag, thus making them affordable to a large section of customers.

Moreover, special attention would have to be paid to numerous aviation norms.

Source: PAL-V: You can fly or drive this amazing car!

‘Final Fantasy XV’ News: Open-World Possibilities, Flying Car Details, & More

Final Fantasy XV details have come in from Square Enix, and it could shape the mindset of fans who have been waiting to start their adventure with Noctis and friends. During an Active Time Report broadcast, the information was revealed to the public.

In a report by DualShockers, it appears the open world aspect of Final Fantasy XV has been expanded upon. Unfortunately, it looks as though players won't be able to roam in terms of going absolutely anywhere that they would like. While the locations upon which Noctis can traverse will be expansive, Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata has clarified that the number of places the player can access will open up as the story goes on.

This is nothing new to action adventure RPG games, as plot progression is what usually opens up new venues or ways to travel. The Final Fantasy series is especially famous for this feature, as travel by air and car tend to happen at later points once the player has reached a critical part in the story.

Additionally, it appears that players won't be able to climb every mountain or scale every cliff in Final Fantasy XV. The open world will have specific ways of getting from higher or lower ground. Combat is fairly straightforward while out in the field, and Tabata has also clarified that there will be something close to a skill tree for various abilities to be learned.

Tabata is currently not going into details about the Armiger, Noctis's special ability that allows him to form weapons around him that hover and enhance his combat abilities. He has stated that it would be a "spoiler," though he does state that there are seven weapon types. Each of these types have quite a bit of variety in them. The Final Fantasy series is known for its plentiful amount of equips and accessories, so fans should expect the same trend for Square Enix's upcoming release.

An interesting note on Final Fantasy XV is the difficulty. Hajime Tabata has assured players old and new that "action game" skills will be of little importance. The game will gradually show the player its mechanics. One could consider it a tutorial, the usual process by which a game's various aspects are introduced and taught. Of course, games usually have a difficulty setting that the player can use to increase or decrease the challenge. Tabata has teased such an option, though he admits that fans will have to wait until E3 to hear more.

In regard to vehicles and methods of transportation in Final Fantasy XV, Director Tabata has stated that the Regalia, Noctis's car, will be faster than chocobo travel. This is a bit of a change to Final Fantasy players, as the yellow birds are usually the go-to choice for when players want to get across land quickly. An interesting note on the giant birds is that you're able to feed them, increasing stamina or speed based on what's given to them for consumption.

Nine More Things Revealed about Final Fantasy XV: https://t.co/FTKTRTPXW6 pic.twitter.com/KjGe2jUn5h

— Kotaku (@Kotaku) June 1, 2016

Piloting and driving the Regalia could cost players dearly if they aren't careful; the ability to take off from the ground when flying will be left up to the players, but the vehicle will crash if the Regalia's landing isn't handled properly. This will lead to a "Game Over," and players will be reset to the point before takeoff began. There's also the option to travel by boat, though this will not give players total control. Instead, they'll be able to rotate the camera during the transition.

Fast point travel in Final Fantasy XV will help players by allowing them to revisit any area they've camped at. This is convenient for farming, or if a player simply wants to explore a previously visited location. Additionally, it appears that players will be able to save their game anywhere. Other games in the Final Fantasy series generally require a certain location or designated area to save, giving this change an intriguing potential. Monsters and enemy units are aplenty in Final Fantasy XV, so this may give more wary players a sense of relief when making progress.

There is currently no gallery mode or photo mode planned for the initial release of Final Fantasy XV, though Square Enix may include these options at a later time. The graphics are a main concern for fans, as well. Tabata has asked that patience be given until E3, when more details on the game are released. Of particular importance is the fact that Square Enix is interested in a PlayStation 4 bundle, but the possibility of such a thing would rely on Sony.

There's also the matter of Kingsglaive, the full-length movie that will accompany the release of Final Fantasy XV. In a report by Gematsu, players can get information on the main characters and supporting cast. The movie will be bundled with the game depending on which edition of Final Fantasy XV is purchased. Fans who are interested in the anime, Brotherhood, should also be excited to know that the next episode will make its appearance around E3.

How do you feel about the latest Final Fantasy XV details? Excited to pilot the Regalia and feed chocobos? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Image via Square Enix]

Source: 'Final Fantasy XV' News: Open-World Possibilities, Flying Car Details, & More

Future present: Flying cars and robots... they are here already

Back in the olden days, when the world of electronics was still young, gizmo dinosaurs such as big black telephones and boxy mechanical cars ruled the world. Only one man in the known universe then had a cool wireless telephone that fit in the palm of his adventurous hand; he would flip it open, and command, "Beam me up!" His name was Captain James Kirk, and he featured in a TV series called Star Trek. He wasn't a real person — this was the stuff of good ol' science fiction.

We're still not being beamed up anywhere just yet, but the mobile phone has become ubiquitous in the years since the Enterprise first appeared on our black and white television screens. Everyone has a phone. What it can do now would have been science fiction 25 years ago, but doesn't excite the least interest any more.

People have become jaded to the wonders of technology. If you told someone your mobile phone can switch on your washing machine and air conditioner at home, or translate from Chinese to English, or recognise almost any song, or do thousands of other nifty things, they would barely raise an eyebrow today. One or two eyebrows might rise a little at news that another of the cool things flashed in early sci-fi is close to reality.

The flying car is pretty much here already, in prototype form. At least three different companies around the world have developed working prototypes that are now in various stages of testing. The first flying cars are expected to hit the market between 2018 and 2020.

Terrafugia, one of the companies with a prototype, has a car that is like a microlight plane with folding wings. On the road, it works as a car. On an airfield, it spreads out its wings and simply, takes off. Aeromobil works on a similar concept too.

The German company Lilium is trying a different approach. Lilium's flying car is a vertical take off and landing craft that would fly from rooftops or backyards. It is also going to be an electric vehicle that you can plug in and charge at home.

A Japanese group has tested a fourth approach to flying cars. Their vehicle is a modified drone, also fully electric, and capable of vertical take off and landing. These vehicles will not require pilot training as they are meant to be automatic to a great degree.

The technology for cars to drive themselves on roads is already at an advanced stage of testing, much thanks to Google. The company has tested driverless cars over a distance of more than 1.9 million kilometres without an accident or a traffic violation.

In other news, the Register, a tech site, reported earlier this week that robots would shortly be put to work selling pizzas in Japan. They are also increasingly taking over manufacturing jobs in China.

A specialist lawyer bot in the United Kingdom has already helped launch appeals in $3 million worth of parking ticket cases. Robots are already helping surgeons in their work. They are expected to soon start doing parts of surgeries, such as the suturing at the end, on their own.

So the good news is, a lot of science fiction fantasies are about to materialise before the decade is out. The bad news? Well, if cars drive themselves, there won't be any jobs for drivers. And if robots do everything from selling pizzas to making phones and dispensing free legal advice, there won't be very many jobs left for human beings.

Source: Future present: Flying cars and robots... they are here already

Watch Cars Fly and Explosions During Fast 8 Filming

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The next installment in the Fast and Furious series is currently filming in Cleveland and it looks action packed. 

While a previous video caught a single car being flung from a rooftop, this new behind-the-scenes video shows multiple cars flying from a parking garage along with explosions, crashes on the streets below and a helicopter.

The film will launch in April of 2017 and it is likely to be set in New York City, despite much of the filming taking place in Cleveland. Actor Dwayne Johnson has already confirmed his return to the movie while Jason Statham, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson are all said to be coming back for the new movie. Charlize Theron has been confirmed as a new addition to the cast.

The film's director will be F. Gary Gray, whose previous movies include The Italian Job and Straight Outta Compton.

SEE ALSO: Furious 7 Grosses $1B in Record Time

The previous movie in the franchise, Furious 7, became the fastest movie to ever gross $1 billion worldwide, making the money in just 17 days.

Fast 8 is the first movie in a new trilogy that will close out the Fast and Furious franchise.

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Source: Watch Cars Fly and Explosions During Fast 8 Filming

Don’t Crash Your Flying Car and Other New Final Fantasy XV Gameplay Details

Final Fantasy XV's Director Hajime Tabata answered questions during the Active Time Report broadcast yesterday. For those of us not fluent in Japanese, Dualshockers is able to provide us with the biggest new details mentioned during the video.

Concerns about the game's graphics that stemmed from the earlier Final Fantasy XV demos will get solid answers during E3. The next episode of the Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV is also scheduled to release in that period of time. A final thing that'll be fully explained during E3 is the game's combat and difficulty, with a "twist" that we'll learn more about when the presentation arrives.

Other numerous inquiries were answered, covering a wide range of the Final Fantasy XV game's aspects. First off, you won't have the ability to climb (bummer). The game isn't completely open world, but it's huge and expansive with an increase of places to explore as the story unfolds. You have the ability to freely save the game at any time, and you can fast travel back to places you camp at. The Regalia car is faster than Chocobos, but you'll be able to juice up your Chocobo with different good to increase their stamina and speed. When you unlock the flying Regalia, you need to be careful not to crash it, or else it's game over and you'll reload back to before you failed as a pilot. There will be an ability skill tree, but Tabata couldn't go into weapons as it would spoil parts of the story.

ALSO READ  Battlefield 1 Vehicles | 2016

The next Active Time Report airs on June 13th, on the eve of E3. Final Fantasy XV arrives on September 30th 2016 for PS4 and Xbox One.

Source: Don't Crash Your Flying Car and Other New Final Fantasy XV Gameplay Details

Self-driving cars being pushed by auto industry

In this May 14, 2014, file photo, a row of Google self-driving cars are shown outside the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. For the first time, California's Department of Motor Vehicles knows how many self-driving cars are traveling on the state's public roads. The agency is issuing permits, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014 that let three companies test 29 vehicles on highways and in neighborhoods. (Photo: AP )

There's a big push in the automotive industry to make cars less like cars and more like robots. It's evident in new features such as back up cameras and automatic brake-sensing technology.

Both have been well-received and praised for making travel safer. However, these are just the first in a long list of vehicle changes we can expect. The end result? Fully self-driven vehicles — something that has a lot of consumers concerned.

There are tons of reports showing how fully self-driven vehicles can make travel virtually danger-free by eliminating human error, but none of that means anything if the majority of people don't want or intend to use the technology.

A recent study reveals 80 percent of drivers would prefer not to ride in fully self-driven vehicles and they would only be okay with the cars if they could be switched to manual driving. Similar studies have been conducted over the past two years, and much to the dismay of auto manufacturers, all have yielded roughly similar results.

This got me thinking. If people continue to resist the technology, why are auto manufacturers still pushing the issue? They keep trying to reassure us people do want, should want or will want autonomous cars, despite what studies show. Aren't they just wasting time and money creating a product for which there is no market?

Well, it's been proven time and again there's a market for just about anything. This will likely be the case for self-driving cars, no matter how much we don't like the idea of them now.

Think about it. A lot of our favorite science fiction movies depict flying cars complete with robot voices. It's funny. It's as if even our oldest, most ridiculous ideas about the future have actually shaped the way things might eventually pan out — although maybe to a lesser extent. I'm not saying everything in the movies will happen, that's just silly. I just think our overall fascination with the future will in time decide the fate of our transportation system. In all respects, pop culture is what created the market for autonomous cars, now it's just up to the manufacturers to make it happen. And they will. Every new thing is really just a product of something else.

The question is if we have embraced the idea of futuristic amenities in fantasy, why are we uncomfortable with new forms of transportation in real life? Other things never before thought possible have become a reality — voice activated phones and computers, drone delivery of our favorite products, holograms. We have welcomed these things, for the most part. Yet, we hold up a stop sign when it comes to autonomous cars.

The resistance and overall fear of autonomous vehicles comes from lack of control. Even in most science fiction movies the flying cars are still manually operated. Putting complete trust into an automated system is asking a lot, especially in a world where many people are still too scared to fly in a plane. We want control over our transportation and to know we are capable of getting from point A to point B on our own.

The changes to vehicles up to this point, have not completely altered the driving experience. They've just enhanced it. Made it safer by combining the most current technology with a human touch. Only time will tell if people accept fully self-driven vehicles the same way they've accepted these tools. Also to be determined is if autonomous cars really do what manufacturers claim — prevent accidents and OWIs, compute faster routes, save fuel, etc.

In the mean time, people like myself are left to wonder if one day there will no longer be such as thing as driver's education. Could you imagine seeing a nine-year-old legally behind the wheel — or should I say screen? Even if a computer is in control. That's pretty scary. All I know is if manufacturers include manual controls as a compromise, I will be using them.

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Source: Self-driving cars being pushed by auto industry