Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Techno ... 7&si=44594
Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
A.L.I. Technologies starts taking orders for $682,000 Xturismo
The Xturismo is the first 'hoverbike' to make its debut in Japan. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writerOctober 26, 2021 16:16 JST
OYAMA, Japan -- On a nearly empty racetrack in the foothills of Mt. Fuji, a Tokyo-based drone startup unveiled its vision for the future of transport: a flying motorcycle able to hit speeds of up to 100kph.
In a scene straight out of a sci-fi film, the driver fired up the Xturismo, which rose several meters off the ground and cruised along the track for about a minute and a half. Reporters and guests -- all wearing earplugs against the deafening noise -- looked on.
Developed by A.L.I. Technologies, the "hoverbike," as the company describes it, weighs 300 kg and is capable of carrying a single rider. According to the company, it can travel at its top speed for up to 40 minutes.
A.L.I., which is backed by Kyocera and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, started taking orders for the bike the same day it was unveiled and plans to deliver the limited-edition run of 200 vehicles to customers by the first half of next year. The price is set at 77.7 million yen ($682,000).
Powered primarily by an internal combustion engine, Xturismo relies on two main propellers to stay aloft. The bike is equipped with the same altitude control technology A.L.I. uses in its drone products, allowing it to glide smoothly through the air.
"We would like to propose a new lifestyle with this floating vehicle," CEO Daisuke Katano said at the unveiling ceremony.
In addition to leisure, the bike could also be used to help rescue people from accidents on the water, said a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party who attended the ceremony.
A.L.I.'s four-year achievement comes as the race to sell flying motorcycles heats up around the world. U.S.-based JetPack Aviation recently said it had succeeded in a flight test of a prototype of the Speeder, reportedly setting itself on course for a launch as early as 2023. Pre-orders start at $380,000. French startup Lazareth is also developing a flying motorcycle.
'We would like to propose a new lifestyle with this floating vehicle,' said Daisuke Katano, A.L.I. Technologies chief executive. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Investment has been pouring into flying cars, with Toyota Motor investing 43 billion yen in U.S.-based Jobby Aviation in January 2020. HT Aero, a flying car startup backed by Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng, said last week it has raised over $500 million in its latest funding round.
Honda Motor revealed last month that it has been developing a flying car as a part of its 5 trillion yen research and development over the next six years.
Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
A.L.I. Technologies starts taking orders for $682,000 Xturismo
The Xturismo is the first 'hoverbike' to make its debut in Japan. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writerOctober 26, 2021 16:16 JST
OYAMA, Japan -- On a nearly empty racetrack in the foothills of Mt. Fuji, a Tokyo-based drone startup unveiled its vision for the future of transport: a flying motorcycle able to hit speeds of up to 100kph.
In a scene straight out of a sci-fi film, the driver fired up the Xturismo, which rose several meters off the ground and cruised along the track for about a minute and a half. Reporters and guests -- all wearing earplugs against the deafening noise -- looked on.
Developed by A.L.I. Technologies, the "hoverbike," as the company describes it, weighs 300 kg and is capable of carrying a single rider. According to the company, it can travel at its top speed for up to 40 minutes.
A.L.I., which is backed by Kyocera and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, started taking orders for the bike the same day it was unveiled and plans to deliver the limited-edition run of 200 vehicles to customers by the first half of next year. The price is set at 77.7 million yen ($682,000).
Powered primarily by an internal combustion engine, Xturismo relies on two main propellers to stay aloft. The bike is equipped with the same altitude control technology A.L.I. uses in its drone products, allowing it to glide smoothly through the air.
"We would like to propose a new lifestyle with this floating vehicle," CEO Daisuke Katano said at the unveiling ceremony.
In addition to leisure, the bike could also be used to help rescue people from accidents on the water, said a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party who attended the ceremony.
A.L.I.'s four-year achievement comes as the race to sell flying motorcycles heats up around the world. U.S.-based JetPack Aviation recently said it had succeeded in a flight test of a prototype of the Speeder, reportedly setting itself on course for a launch as early as 2023. Pre-orders start at $380,000. French startup Lazareth is also developing a flying motorcycle.
'We would like to propose a new lifestyle with this floating vehicle,' said Daisuke Katano, A.L.I. Technologies chief executive. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Investment has been pouring into flying cars, with Toyota Motor investing 43 billion yen in U.S.-based Jobby Aviation in January 2020. HT Aero, a flying car startup backed by Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng, said last week it has raised over $500 million in its latest funding round.
Honda Motor revealed last month that it has been developing a flying car as a part of its 5 trillion yen research and development over the next six years.
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
Looks very cool but not sure of its practicality. Rotor-bladed aircraft always seem to be fighting against the forces of nature which makes them loud, windy, dangerous and difficult to control, as opposed to winged aircraft which seems to go with the natural flow of things.
I can't imagine something like this flying over our heads anytime soon. Looks to me to be more of a rich-mans toy to be used around private estates for fun than a serious vehicle to get you from A to B. You'd surely need some sort of pilots license for a start.
I can't imagine something like this flying over our heads anytime soon. Looks to me to be more of a rich-mans toy to be used around private estates for fun than a serious vehicle to get you from A to B. You'd surely need some sort of pilots license for a start.
The difference between animals and humans is that animals would never allow the dumb ones to lead the pack.
- Kung-fu Hillbilly
- Expatriate
- Posts: 4168
- Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 11:26 am
- Reputation: 4983
- Location: Behind you.
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
Perfect for making giant salads after a day's ride.
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 10:01 am
- Reputation: 509
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 1054
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 3:43 pm
- Reputation: 1343
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
The manufacturers and fans (excuse the pun) of these things want us to imagine some futuristic utopia where everybody will be using hover bikes to get around, and swarms of drones will be making deliveries of parcels and shopping etc.xandreu wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:18 am Looks very cool but not sure of its practicality. Rotor-bladed aircraft always seem to be fighting against the forces of nature which makes them loud, windy, dangerous and difficult to control, as opposed to winged aircraft which seems to go with the natural flow of things.
I can't imagine something like this flying over our heads anytime soon. Looks to me to be more of a rich-mans toy to be used around private estates for fun than a serious vehicle to get you from A to B. You'd surely need some sort of pilots license for a start.
The reality would be rather different, if the sky was filled with hover bikes and delivery drones, they’d be colliding or running out of power and crashing to the ground, injuring and killing pilots and pedestrians, wreaking havoc with genuine air traffic, hitting power lines, and distracting road users, causing road traffic accidents.
The first fatality caused by one will bring in all kinds of restrictive legislation, and as you say, they’d be expensive playthings for the wealthy.
As a means of transport, unless you live next to a river with no bridge nearby, they’re on par with mopeds (mopeds having the advantage of far greater range)
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 467
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:57 am
- Reputation: 184
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
At least they're not claiming it will be "bigger than the Internet"- I'm sure they said something like that about the "Segue".
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
Actually, this part is where the removal of "human error" by programming all the drones to follow a series of instructions and rules would mean less collisions.Chad Sexington wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:36 am The reality would be rather different, if the sky was filled with hover bikes and delivery drones, they’d be colliding or running out of power and crashing to the ground........
If every drone were to have a unique identifier all the drones close by would be able to see where it was and at what height it was flying at and in which direction. They would then be able to self-rectify their flight path to avoid any and all collisions.
In fact I think the tech is already here with the ability to control drone swarms.
- newkidontheblock
- Expatriate
- Posts: 4466
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 3:51 am
- Reputation: 1554
Re: Japan drone maker's flying motorcycle to hit the skies next year
Winged aircraft are pretty noisy, too. Ever been to an airport with jets taking off and landing? Everyone working on the tarmac wear headphones for a reason.
Drones take the convenience of helicopters (take off and land anywhere) coupled with computers that do most of the actual flying.
Ever trying flying a helicopter? It’s pretty difficult staying on top of the cone of instability.
Plus drone races are getting popular.
The next step is humans on racing drones.
Just my opinions.
Drones take the convenience of helicopters (take off and land anywhere) coupled with computers that do most of the actual flying.
Ever trying flying a helicopter? It’s pretty difficult staying on top of the cone of instability.
Plus drone races are getting popular.
The next step is humans on racing drones.
Just my opinions.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 18 Replies
- 6612 Views
-
Last post by Phnom Krom
-
- 1 Replies
- 1227 Views
-
Last post by Alex
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 424 guests