Future of Automobile - Skydrive

Invention of the car was done in the 18th century by Karl Benz, it was known as "Motorwagen", in 1886. The invention of a plane was done in the 19th century by Wright brothers but wait, why am I telling you all this? This is because humans are curious about inventing new things to make life more comfortable with the help of technology.

Skydrive

Now, we live in an era where we want all the things to be faster and which bring comfort in our life. You see cars running on the road manufactured by different companies like BMW, Tesla and also planes in the air by different companies like Airbus, Boeing, etc. What happens when we combine both technologies of aviation and automobiles? We might think of getting an output as a car flying in the air, but wait is it possible? My answer is yes, it is possible. “Skydrive” a Japanese company invented a car which can “fly” in the air. It is a startup started with engineers in the field of aircraft, drone and automobile founded mainly by members of a voluntary group, “CARTIVATOR” established in 2012.

SD-03 (skydrive)

Skydrive announced and conducted a public demonstration flight of its new SD-03 flying car model on 25 August 2020. It was the first demonstration of its kind in Japan. 

ABOUT SKYDRIVE

Skydrive is a company established by Tomohiro Fukuzawa in July 2018. The main aim of the company is to manufacture and sell the flying car and cargo drone. Major shareholders of the company are DroneFund Z, Corporation Inc., STRIVE ITOCHU Technology Ventures Inc., Energy & Environment Investment Inc. This company is also supported by the local government and they develop and plan business together. Besides Flying cars, the company also made cargo drones.

Information about Cargo Drone:

Dimensions:-

Length is 1.3 m, Width 1.7 m , Height 1 m.

Weight:-

The self-weight of the drone is 25 kgs & it can take a payload of up to 30 kgs.

Flying speed and time:

A drone has a flying speed of about 40 km/h and it has about 15 mins of flight time.The self-weight of the drone is 25 kgs & it can take a payload of up to 30 kgs.

DESIGN:-

SkyDrive’s flying car has been designed to be a coupe embodying dreams and exuding charisma, such that it will be welcomed into people’s lives and used naturally. The design of a car is based on the world's smallest electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) model.

Dimensions:

Height = 2 meters
Length = 4 meters
It requires only as much space as required by two parked cars. The power train consists of electric motors that drive rotors placed in four different locations with each location housing two rotors rotating in opposite directions, each of them is driven on its motor. The car uses 8 motors to ensure safety in emergencies during flight.

Colour:

The main colour of SD-03 is Pearl White. It represents birds, the floating clouds and future. The company hopes that aircraft becomes people's partner in the sky and they will continue working and design a safe partner in the sky.

SD-03 (skydrive)

TESTING 

The flight took place in a 10,000 sq-meters Toyota test field. It is one of the largest test fields in Japan. The single-seat SD-03 took off early in the evening and circled in the field. It took 4 minutes in the test field.

A pilot was at control on a computer-assisted control system which helps to ensure flight stability and safety. Technical staff at the field monitored flight conditions and aircraft performance all the time to keep a backup. The company continues test flights under certain conditions but now it is expanding the conditions to improve technologies full compliance with the safety provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act. Based on the results of SD-03 test it aims to approve flights outside the limits of Toyota Test Field before the end of 2020.

 

EVENT

The event was conducted on 25 August 2020 in Japan. "We are extremely excited to have achieved japan’s first-ever manned flight of a flying car in the two years since we founded SkyDrive in 2018 with the goal of commercializing such aircraft," said Tomohiro fukuzawa, SkyDive CEO during the event. "We aim to take our social experiment to the next level in 2023 and to that end we will be accelerating our technological development and our business development. we want to realize a society where flying cars are an accessible and convenient means of transportation in the skies and people are able to experience a safe, secure, and comfortable new way of life. we also aspire to develop markets around the world, in collaboration with our partner companies, so that an urban air mobility society with aircraft supplied by SkyDrive becomes a reality not only in Japan but also across the globe".

SD-XX (skydrive)

INFORMATION ABOUT SD-XX MODEL:

SD-XX is another model of flying cars. 

Basic specifications:

It has a length of 4.5-meter width of 3.5 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. It can take 2 persons.

Flight specifications:

It is the purely electrical-based model. The total number of propellers are 8-in the four corners of the vehicle. The SD-XX Model can carry up to 500 kgs weight in the air. SD-XX flies at approximately 500 m altitude. It has a flying speed of 60 Km/h with mileage of 20-30 Km. It has vertical takeoff and landing, the same as SD-03. Also, it has a compact size equivalent to a car. It is safe and secure and the model is purely electrically powered. 

CONCLUSION:

The world population is growing day by day so there will be an increase in the number of cars, so we require a solution for that, SD-03 and SD-XX may be the future of cars. Also, companies like Airbus S.E, Audi AG, Delorean Aerospace LLC, Tesla Inc. are researching and developing flying car technology. If you like the concept of Flying Cars, checkout Flying Taxi please give your valuable comments.

Thank you!