Japan is on track to launch the world’s first flying taxi service within the next three years.
Start-up company SkyDrive Inc. reports it is making steady progress in the development of commercial electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs).
The company has been successfully conducting a piloted eVTOL test that indicates short-hop flights are close to commercial reality.
The sleek, single-seat eVTOL, dubbed SD-03 (SkyDrive third generation), resembles a hydroplane on skis and weighs just 400kg.
The body is made of carbon fibre, aluminium, and other materials that have been chosen for their weight, balance, and durability.
The craft measures 4m in length and width and is about 2m tall. During operation, the nose of the craft is lit with white LED lights. Red lights run around the bottom to enable the vehicle to be seen in the sky and to distinguish the direction the craft is flying.
The SD-03 uses four pairs of electrically driven coaxial rotors, with one pair mounted at each quadrant. These enable a flight time of 5 to 10 minutes at speeds up to 50km/h.
“The propellers on each pair counter-rotate,” explains Nobuo Kishi, Sky Drive’s chief technology officer. “This cancels out propeller torque.” It also makes for a compact design, “so all the craft needs to land is the space of two parked cars,” he adds.
This SkyDrive video shows the SD-03 take off vertically then engage in manoeuvres as it hovers up to two meters off the ground around a netted enclosure. The craft is shown moving about at walking speed for roughly 4min before landing on a designated spot.
For monitoring purposes and back-up, engineers used an additional computer-assisted control system to ensure the craft’s stability and safety.
Speaking at the press conference, Tomohiro Fukuzawa, SkyDrive’s CEO, estimated there are currently as many as 100 flying car projects underway around the world, “but only a few have succeeded with someone on board,” he said.
He went on to note that Japan lags behind other countries in the aviation industry but excels in manufacturing cars. Given the similarities between cars – especially electric cars – and VTOLs, he believes Japan can compete with companies in the US, Europe, and China that are also developing eVTOLs.
SkyDrive’s advances have encouraged new venture capital investors to come on board and nearly triple investment to a total of 5.9 billion yen ($56 million).
In May, SkyDrive unveiled a drone for commercial use that is based on the same drive and power systems as the SD-03. Named the Cargo Drone, it’s able to transport payloads of up to 30 kg and can be pre-programmed to fly autonomously or be piloted manually.
Kishi says the drone is designed to work within a 3km range in locations that are difficult or time-consuming to get to by road.
Fukuzawa is hoping to begin taxi services in 2023 (single passenger and pilot) in the Osaka Bay area for brief 10 minutes flights.
This could include flying between locations like Kansai and Kobe airports and tourist attractions such as Universal Studios Japan.
