Drones are being used for a gazillion applications now, but a step higher are human transport drones. We are at the edge of time where everyone will start flying to places instead of traveling through ground transport.
The world is going crazy over flying cars and Dubai is leading the craze with the introduction of autonomous drone taxis. While we are fascinated by the concept of drones, the hoverbikes would surely be loved by everyone. Hover Surf, A Russian company, has developed a single-seat hoverbike which is a combination of a bicycle and a quadcopter. Multi-rotor drones are no older than five years, but ever since they hit the market, the craze for building manned drones has become a trend. The multi-rotors bring the hovering advantage of a helicopter while simultaneously eliminating the need for high maintenance and the noisy top rotor.
The availability of off-the-shelf electric motors, lithium-ion batteries, cheaper accelerometers and GPS chips has made drone building convenient, not just for the established companies, but also for the backyard inventors with limited resources.
While the bigger companies keep risk mitigation as their top concern, the backyard enthusiasts don’t mind endangering themselves as lab rats. This Moscow-based hovercraft is a quadcopter that is designed to look like an adventure bike. A video which was released features a rider wearing a dirt bike gear in a warehouse, hovering high enough to touch the roof at any moment.
While the hoverbike looks reasonably stable, the hovering near the ceiling will scare you, for sure. The vehicle is powered by both electricity and a hybrid battery capable of reaching a top speed of 50 kilometers an hour. When fully charged, the bike can operate for a minimum of 27 minutes. Four wooden rotors, measuring one meter in length, lift the craft. While serving the intended purposes, the hoverbike has very limited safety. The rotors are mounted at a level convenient enough to amputate your legs. If you are willing to lose a leg in the name of extreme sports, this one may be for you. It could perhaps cost you an arm and a leg as it comes with a price tag of $150,000.
This craft may not be the best product of the hover technology, yet, it is still an impressive step in an era where big businesses like Uber and Airbus or backyard inventors are going crazy trying to build some good ones. You can expect to see much more of such products soon.
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