Watch: A Japanese firm’s drone-like unmanned flying car looks like straight out of the future
The NEC Corp conducted a successful test run of its quadcopter – a 148 km four-rotor model that can hover 10 feet above ground.
Japanese technology firm NEC Corp has unveiled what it calls a flying car – a golf cart sized quadcopter that hovered (slightly uncertainly) during its first test flight on Monday.
The 148 kg four-rotor model, which resembles a drone, is unmanned. The company calls its a first step towards creating flying cars that it believes will be the chosen mode of transport in the future. NEC’s test run was conducted at its Abiko branch in the Chiba Prefecture in the presence of onlookers and journalists.
For now, this model of the quadcopter can hover – rather noisily – 10 feet above ground. The challenge will be to make it lighter, quieter and capable of running long distances at faster speeds.
NEC will draw on its expertise in areas such as autonomous control, airport systems and data networks in developing this product and others like it, Koji Okada, director of NEC’s national security solution department told the Japan Times. He added that the firm hopes to produce a management system for logistics use in 2023.
Several companies, including Airbus SE, The Boeing Company and Uber Technologies Inc are experimenting with the creation of aerial vehicles.