10 INSANE DRONES Transportation That Will Blow Your Mind ! | Review| Top 10 |phaltoide tech
Intro: We live in amazing times. What used to be a myth and an unachievable dream is now becoming a reality. Flying cars and air taxis have now become one of the biggest talking points of this decade and if you’re not aware, you should gear up because they are indeed the future. Here are 10 of the most insane drones for transportation and everything you need to know about them. The Ehang 184 When it comes to transportation of passengers alone, there’s hardly another drone in the world that beats the Ethang 184.
While most already functional drones are tiny and carry only cameras, this drone was designed by a major Chinese drone maker Ethan Corp, to transport people. It has now completed more than a thousand test flights mostly with passengers on it. This drone first got popularity at CES in 2016 and promised the dream of robotic public transportation. Now, it has made good on its promise and has even made trips inside Las Vegas and Dubai. This drone was made with a technology that is adjustable to a varied range of weather conditions. Built with light weight aluminum frame and carbon fiber panels, this drone is highly optimized and uses electric motors, airframe construction, and the latest in battery tech.
The Ethang 184 has eight electrically-powered rotors and can fly for up to 10 miles at incredible speeds of 80mph or more. It provides a way to hypothetically beat traffic, especially in densely populated areas. One issue however is that it can only carry one passenger at a time, however, it has been tested to be able to move a payload of 500 pounds. Another issue is that it can only carry people no longer than 23 minutes.
One cool thing about this drone is its automated flight system. Here’s how it works. Its computer pulls data from onboard sensors and then uses satellites to navigate the safest path. Amazing right? Even when damaged, it is programmed on how to make a safe descent to the ground.
The Ethang 184 is a major contender for the best commercial passenger drone. However, as it plans to go commercial, the price would no doubt be pricey. It plans to start with wealthy customers like Elon Musk, then with time, it is likely to be more affordable. Kelekona drone bus While most drones on this list are designed for single-passenger flights, this drone vehicle is designed to transport as many as 40 people at once. It is made with a futuristic and sleek design, kind of looking like a UFO.
Its founder had this to say about the drone: “We have a really small airspace in New York. It never made sense to us to create a small aircraft that was only able to carry up to six people. You have to have the kind of mass transit we rely on here in the city. It makes sense to try to move as many people as possible in one aircraft so that we’re not hogging airspace.”
Well, you’ve got to agree with him. While the sky has more space than land, drone flights would need to be contained and carefully planned, especially in big cities. One day these drone flights are going to be affordable for the general public to use and undoubtedly, there could be issues with congestion and traffic. As per affordability, the drone flight isn’t going to be as expensive as other drones on this list. The intention of its founders is for it to cost not more than train tickets for the same distance. It looks like they’d be keeping true to this promise as the drone’s first route, from Manhattan to the Hamptons, will have an $85 ticket price for the 30-minute flight.
Other routes it intends to travel are London to Paris, New York to Washington, and Los Angeles to San Francisco. One advantage it has over traditional aircraft is that it won’t be needing long runways to land. The Kelekona drone bus plans to start with cargo-only routes and will undergo passenger routes starting from 2024. Being that it can carry up to 10,000-pound payload, that shouldn’t be a problem. Omni Overbooard drone The Omni Overboard drone recently gained prominence when spotted navigating traffic. Unlike other passenger drones, it is built with a special design and functionality.
This drone looks like a cross between a skateboard, carries a single human and hovers like the Aladdin carpet. Its founder Alexandru Duru first flew this electric hoverboard back in 2015 and he set a Guinness World Record for distance which however has been broken since. After multiple public testings and stunt shows, Duru is now looking to commercialize it and make it available to the public. The Omni overboard drone, despite its unorthodox use, is really simple to control. It is simply made up of eight underslung rotors, a frame, and a pair of snowboarding boots. It is controlled with a hand-throttle that consists only of a pair of spring-loaded pliers.
Being the same as it was 6 years ago when it first flew, its founder Duru had this to say about it: "I mean, it's pretty much all you need for the control. It's the thrust level. It's the simplest thing you can imagine. Really.
It's your body that does the balance. Our brains can learn so many things, and it learns this as another skill. It's not even that difficult." One drawback however is that this drone can’t stay aloft for long. It runs on batteries and not on kerosene and has a flight distance of up to 905 ft.
Well, the good thing is that this drone flies smoothly, is relatively quiet, reliable, and is guaranteed to be a lot cheaper than most passenger drones. One thing however is that this product is more likely to be used for extreme sports than for urban transport, but we’d never know what the future holds. Its founder sounds determined and had this to say on the topic, “It will turn into a product that's usable for real. You're looking at these guys with jetpacks, and thinking this is great, but this is crazy! I really think that here we have something that's not too crazy.” Boeing/AFS Passenger Air Vehicle If you’ve heard of Boeing, you must know of its reputation.
Boeing is the world’s leading aerospace company and they didn’t disappoint with this drone. Its subsidiary company, Aurora Flight Sciences has developed this drone with 2 and 4-seat variants. It has even undergone a complete flight test.
This fully-electric passenger air vehicle can fly as far as 50 miles. Along with the Ethang 184, this drone flies autonomously and doesn’t require manned assistance. Its ‘falcon wing’ type doors are also really sleek and make entry and exit easier. It has passed the FAA ultralight regulations, so, once the drones are available, they’d be quickly accessible to the public. Even better, the passenger drone is guaranteed to meet the transport and environmental challenges, offering a urban, clean, and safe traveling experience.
Although it was only got conceptualized in 2018, a year later it was ready for testing. In January 2019, it completed its first test flight during which it performed a fully controlled takeoff, hover, and landing. This air vehicle is being modified as one of the best aero-cabs in the market. It has a width of 28ft and an overall length of 30ft. It can carry up to 4 passengers and even has the option of carrying cargo.
One drone which this drone is similar to is the Kitty Hawk Cora. Besides the design, they both can transition to forward flights using single pusher propellors and use vertical lift propellors for their takeoff and landing. Predator C Avenger Perhaps the most technologically advanced drone on this list, the Predator C Avenger is developed by GA-ASI and piloted remotely.
Its first flight was conducted in April 2009, and while it is designed for commercial purposes like the Ethang 184, it is much better for transportation. This combat drone has a maximum take-off weight of 8 tonnes and has been called “the unmanned combat vehicle”. Configured for transporting military weapons and equipment, the Predator C Avenger can carry several payload sensors just with its wing hard-point mountings and it has a section called the internal weapons bay which can carry large sensors up to 1.5 tonnes. Besides its transportation abilities, this combat drone is made with Hellfire missiles, a guided bomb unit, and joint direct attack munitions.
It can perform time-sensitive strike missions over sea and land, wide-area surveillance, and several other military missions that can’t be carried out by a usual aircraft. It can lift heavier than most drones and even more impressive is its incredible speed. Using the Pratt and Whitney PW545B turbofan engine, the Predator C Avenger has a maximum speed of 400k. Also, it can reach altitudes of up to 50,000ft and has an astounding endurance of 20 hours.
Although it began its life as a reconnaissance drone, it was later converted to carry Hellfire-anti tank missiles, and from there moved to the transportation of other things. It is one of the newest drone systems in the US military when talking about drones for transportation, there’s hardly another more advanced than the Predator C Avenger. Kittyhawk Flyer Kitty Hawk is founded and backed by Larry Page. Being one of the richest men in the world, the Google co-founder would no doubt ensure that the Kittyhawk flyer becomes the best option for drone transportation. Well, he is keeping true to that and has made the kittyhawk flyer with a different design than other passenger drones.
It is more of a personal flying car, bringing the dreams of flying cars to reality. This super-impressive drone was launched in 2015 and since then has only gotten better. According to the company, the Kittyhawk flyer completed over 25,000 crewed and uncrewed flights.
Being fully electric, the flyer has solid endurance and can fly for up to 20 minutes. This vertical take-off and landing single-seater vehicle are powered by 10 large fans. The flyer is made with special software with which the drone is controlled and stabilized being that it is specially made to operate between 3 to 10 feet of water. Having passed the FIAA ultralight regulations, be ready to book your own Kittyhawk flyer service when it finally becomes available.
Well, indeed the Kitty Hawk company intended it to be accessible to anyone. So much so that the device is simple to navigate with less than two hours of training. However, they failed to find a way to monetize this drone. In light of that, Kitty Hawk abandoned the flyer and focused on a more profitable drone called the Heaviside. In 2020, the company shut down the Kittyhawk flyer program, laying off a 70-person team in the process.
The company released this saying: “Going forward, we are doubling down on Heaviside as our primary platform. But we would never have gotten here without launching and learning from Flyer, and the amazing team of people who built and operated it.” Kittyhawk Cora With Kittyhawk abandoning the kittyhawk flyer, the Heavyside became it’s its major project. However, more recently, KittyHawk made a collaboration with Boeing for the development of the KittyHawk Cora. Earlier this year, it was announced that Boeing contributed $450 million for the development of the KittyHawk Cora.
Arguably the most advanced drone for transportation, the Cora is an offshoot of its predecessor the flyer, and was designed purely as an air taxi. It is made with fourth-generation technology and is expected to fly fully autonomously. Unlike most passenger drones, Cora has space for two, however, not needing manned assistance. For its VTOL flight, it makes use of 12 propellers.
And uses a facing thruster and a pair of high lift wings for forward flights. During its development, it faced several regulatory hurdles from the United States and was forced to take the development to New Zealand, being one of the only places that were willing to work with them. Since the New Zealand government has been looking to decrease emissions via electric transportation, it didn’t take long for the agreement to be made.
However, in the USA, Cora is now allowed to run its testings but only up to 5,000 feet with passengers or without passengers. The Cora was first powered in March 2018. It is expected to be the best choice for passenger transportation by many reviewers and even better, it was announced in 2021 that it completed over 1500 test flights. One cool thing about this drone is the excellent view it provides. It has a canopy over the cockpit which would allow for nice upward, right, left, and forward views. The company is satisfied with the two-seater drone and is not looking to create a larger one anytime soon.
Whichever, the Cora would no doubt be one of the best options for passenger flights when it becomes available. The Volocopter series This German-engineered passenger drone looks more like a helicopter. But don’t be deceived by its looks. To power its flight, it makes use of no less than 18 propellers. No surprise, it has a 155MPH flight speed and can fly for as long as 60 miles. The company has developed several Volocopter prototypes some of which are the Volocopter VC1, the VoloConnect, and the VoloCity which are reserved mainly for urban places.
The Volocopter VC1 even has a Guinness world record as the first manned flight of an electric multicopter. The most recent drone prototypes join the short list of passenger air vehicles that are fully autonomous. However, in 2013, the Volocopter franchise made progress with the VC200 which made its first uncrewed flight. The VC200 is a two-seater and its design is just astonishing. It completed 9 remote-controlled flights and during the test, it lasted a total of twenty minutes in the air and flew at a height of 22 meters. While not ground-breaking, this drone is the first of its kind and guarantees smooth take-offs and landings.
Having had its first flight in 2011, the Volocopter franchise has developed leaps and bounds and is closer to being used for real-life commuter trips than most of its competitors. Having made over 1000 test flights with these drones, it is likely to make them accessible soon. It plans to not only manufacture passenger drones, but also build Voloports, run the air taxi service, and build an app through which customers can request drone flights. The Volocopters seem to be the future of air transportation, particularly due to their emission-free engine.
The company sees a profit medium and by selling it as ‘the world safest means of air transport’ they are on their way to making huge grounds in the world of air travel. Uber Elevate Being by far the leading company in the taxi business, Uber is not stopping and is looking to dominate the passenger drone business as well. Known as Uber Elevate, this section is termed ‘on-demand aviation’, and is going to be run similarly to their world of automobiles. Uber Elevate is the name of Uber’s initiative aimed at launching their passenger drones for commercial purposes. No doubt, this company is looking to make what still looks like a myth into reality, and if any company can do it has got to be Uber.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Uber scaled back on this project and made a collaboration with Joby Aviation which invested $75 million in the startup. Their Elevate Flying car is the talk of many enthusiasts and this drone has been tested to fly 74 miles in just 15 minutes. Well, this all-electric drone is still being tested and can carry as many as four passengers. It can also travel up to 150 miles going at an incredible speed of 200mph. One issue, however, is that the aircraft is yet to be certified by the FAA.
For now, the company has not set a price for how much trips would cost but it believes that with enough volume, it would be just as affordable as regular transport. Having started demonstrator’s flights in 2020, Uber plans to begin commercial operations in 2023 starting with Australia, Melbourne, Texas, Dallas, California, and Los Angeles. And Uber plans to have up to 1,000 landings per hour in these locations. Currently, it is working on a software called Elevate Cloud Services to regulate air traffic and manage dense situations.
The drones would also have the tech to avoid power lines, high-rise buildings, airport corridors, radio/cell transmission, and be able to detect unreported flying objects. Lilium jet When talking about looks, you’ve got to give it to the Lilium jet. It is possibly the best-looking air vehicle and has a wild list of cool specifications. This completely electric jet can travel for as far as 300km while moving at a speed of 300km/hr. The company even claims that this passenger drone can cover 70km in just 15 minutes. Powered with 36 electric motors, the Lilium jet can lift as much as 1,411 lbs.
And although the propellers control the lifting, they are rotated strictly via electromagnetism. This 8.5m long drone will have a wingspan of 13.9m and will be made of highly durable carbon fiber materials. Just like Uber Elevate, this is another vehicle that’d be used as an air taxi. One area it defeats other air taxis is the seating capacity. This drone is a 7-seater and all you would need is to demand service on the app.
Well, no doubt, the seating capacity would be great for air congestion when drone travel finally becomes a major thing. Besides the seating space, this drone also features luggage space at the rear end. It has spacious seats, a great view, and even legroom. Having secured certification for a high-capacity aircraft with the European Aviation Safety Agency, and the FAA, the Lilium jet is ready to be used and the company expects it to be available for commercial operations in 2024. Also, it won’t be as expensive as other drones on this list.
Well, you should be excited. This vertical take-off and landing drone was unveiled in March 2021 and it looks to be on its way to being the future of air travel. It looks like it’d start with Florida as the company is already looking to build 14 Vertiports there. Outro Those are 10 of the most insane drones for transportation and I’m sure you already have one of these flights you’d love to book when they finally become available. IF you want to see more of this content look this insane vehicles series playlist.
While some of them would still require some time to become fully accessible, some of them like the Ethang 184 are already carrying out passenger travel. Most of these drones have heavy funding so it is guaranteed that they’d constantly be modified and developed. So, expect to see better specifications in coming years as this is only the beginning. Hello guys that is all for now.
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2022-10-02 04:06
