For years, people have been saying that in the future we’ll have flying cars but is the future already here?
At the 2022 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the world’s first flying bike was unveiled and cruised through the air with ease.
What are the specs?
The XTURISMO hover-bike weighs 300KG and is capable of flying for up to 40 minutes and reaching speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour. It is powered using internal combustion and a battery with autonomous control via an electric control system.
Originally developed by Japanese firm AERWINS Technologies as a drone start-up, the hover-bike immediately makes us think of the speeder bikes that are seen in the Star Wars films.
Founder and CEO of AERWINS Technologies, Shuhei Komatsu says the company initially started out making drones and unmanned aerial vehicles.
One of the first people to take the hover-bike out for a spin was Thad Szott, co-chairman of the Detroit Auto Show. Speaking to The Sun, he described the experience as being something from a galaxy far far away…
“I feel like I’m 15 years old and I just got out of Star Wars and jumped on their bike. It’s awesome!”
You can order one now
The XTURISMO hover-bike is already on sale now on AERWINS website, where the price for the limited edition model is listed as $777,000.
A deposit of $20,000 is required and you can choose between three colours: red, blue, or black.
According to Komatsu, the company hopes to release a smaller, more affordable electric model by 2025 that’ll cost $50,000.
Flying bikes and traffic
While many people are excited at the thought of flying vehicles, the rules of driving and traffic would need to be completely rewritten. The roads we drive on have lane markings to inform us of the space in which our car should be within and we have traffic lights allow cars from multiple directions to take turns in crossing an intersection.
How do flying cars travelling in multiple directions decide who has the right of way? What would the rules of overtaking be? Will flying cars need another set of indicator lights to signal when they wish to fly above or below someone as opposed to just turning left or right?
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to making flying cars but for now, Szott says that these flying bikes will start by delivering goods as opposed to transporting people.
“I think we’ll start with delivering goods and services, maybe by drone. It’s ready for today’s world if you go airport to airport. But I’m anxious to see when we can go neighborhood to neighborhood. So, let’s get it worked out.”