I just recently blogged about the top car technologies we will most likely see in the future of cars. One of those features was the ability to fly in your car. Ironically at Hyundai’s annual Idea Festival, a flying “car” was showcased at the event. The prototype designed by Hyundai engineers is a hover-type vehicle with a driver’s seat in the middle.
The term car in this sense is one that should be used lightly, considering this vehicle was controlled by an outside operator with a remote control and not from the cockpit.
The design seemed so simple. A bunch of rotors, 16 to be exact, surrounds a driver’s seat, with wheels supporting the bottom the cockpit for landing and moving on land. The vehicle moved smoothly, and did not seem to emit lots of noise you may expect from the 16 rotors. It seemed to have a bit of a hard time staying level with the ground, but who knows, that could be how turns are made.
I can’t really judge since I am no engineer, just the guy that stares at engineers work in amazement.
Now even this is an impractical, yet simply awesome invention, it makes you wonder just how close we are from producing acceptable flying cars. Think about it. This is just a prototype that Hyundai engineers designed for a silly festival that Hyundai hosts to have some creative fun. With more minds working on something like this, with actual legitimate goals set, who knows what could be created. So, even though you won’t be signing up for a Hyundai flying car any time soon, you should be excited about the potential.
Who knows, your kids or grandkids first car might be a Hyundai Air or something like that. Doesn’t hurt to dream eh?
