“Of the world’s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person on board,” said Fukuzawa. “I hope many people will want to ride it and feel safe.”
Roadblocks to flying cars
Assuming all safety improvements are completed, Fukuzawa is anticipating that the high-flying auto will hit the market by 2023.
Skydrive is still working on the obstacles of its flying car. Battery size, safety issues, and air traffic control all pose challenges. And these are the things that affect the cost-to-scale and the price-to-market.
“Many things have to happen,” said Sanjiv Singh, professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. “If they cost $10 million, no one is going to buy them. If they fly for 5 minutes, no one is going to buy them.”
Skydrive is one of about 100 companies that are developing flying cars internationally. And there are definitely some obstacles to overcome. But if time and technology are any indications, we may all be flying around in these soon.
