
Japan on Track to Introduce Flying Taxi Services in 2023 - Suenaga
https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/japan-on-track-to-introduce-flying-taxi-services-in-2023
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parsimo2010
Scaling the current electric quadcopter design to carry humans is a terrible
idea. Traditional airplanes and helicopters with variable pitch rotors can
safely land if they lose power. If a quadcopter loses power it cannot land
safely, and the passengers will die if it falls from 100 feet. Parachutes are
an option, but there is a weight penalty and a minimum operating height, which
means the concept of a bunch of 1-4 passenger quads zipping around the city
are unlikely to happen until there is a huge conceptual leap in the design of
these systems. There are a lot of people that claim they won't fly in a 737
MAX because of its flight control problems, but quads would be a zillion times
more dangerous for humans.

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jfoster
I don't think it's impossible to make flying cars work, but the practicality
of them seems very questionable. I think Elon Musk makes some good points
against them (noise, wind, anxiety, danger):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTh36uCf0Mk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTh36uCf0Mk)

Additionally, are they worth the energy & technology cost, or would really
fast autonomous cars (even if they need a dedicated track or tunnel) be much
more feasible? Making a vehicle roll along the ground requires a lot less
energy than making one that moves along the same path but also fights gravity
the entire way.

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avar
> noise, [...] anxiety

How is it any categorically different from taking a helicopter ride today, or
being a passenger in a fast-moving scooter? A lot of people are demonstrably
fine with that.

> [...]wind

The wind from the propellers will be going downwards, I don't see why the user
would be subjected to more wind than if they were on a motorcycle or in a
convertible for the rest of the ride.

> are they worth the energy[...]

Some quick searching shows that a 85 kWh Tesla battery is 540 kg, this vehicle
is 400 kg in total, let's say _very_ optimistically that 200 kg of that is the
battery, so around 40 kWh.

At $0.25 per kWh that's around $10 for a 5-10 minute ride. Considering you'd
be able to traverse a significant distance in a dense city that doesn't seem
too bad compared to a normal taxi.

> [...]& technology cost

Technology which is being developed for autonomous drones anyway, putting a
seat in it instead of a cargo box doesn't make it that much more complex.

> [...]Making a vehicle roll along the ground[...]

Sure, but as a technology how much is rolling along the ground going to cost
in a place like Tokyo if the government stopped subsidizing the land use
required for that road surface?

That's going to be the main longer term impact of "flying cars" in dense
cities.

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polytely
The wind is mainly a problem for everyone else, not the passenger themselves.
Imagine being a pedestrian in a city where a chunk of all taxis is replaced
with flying taxis, seems like a lot of hinder for everyone else just so some
rich asshole can get slightly faster to their destination

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tchaffee
This seems short-sighted. Mobile phones used to an annoying tool only "rich
assholes" could use to loudly talk in a public space. Cars, air travel,
electric cars - all at one point only affordable by the rich.

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jfoster
Suppose pretty much everyone can fly around in flying cars. Isn't there now an
immense amount of noise and wind everywhere, akin to having a landing
helicopter next to you all day?

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sradman
We have "flying cars": they are called airplanes and helicopters. The latest
trend is towards a hybrid vehicle that combines the Vertical Takeoff and
Landing (VTOL) capabilities of a helicopter with the forward speed and
efficiency of an airplane. Battery driven electric motors add another
dimension to these designs as does autonomous operation.

The SkyDrive flying taxi seems to be an electric quadcopter [1] with coaxial
rotors [2]. I'm assuming that the key advantage over a traditional helicopter
is a smaller footprint due to the quadcopter configuration.

Perhaps we are conflating two innovations: functional electric passenger
quadcopter and the infrastructure for flying taxi services.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors)

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jt2190
> [Tomohiro] Fukuzawa [, SkyDrive’s CEO] is also targeting 2023 to begin taxi
> services (single passenger and pilot) in the Osaka Bay area, flying between
> locations like Kansai and Kobe airports and tourist attractions such as
> Universal Studios Japan. These flights will take less than ten minutes—a
> practical nod to the limitations of the battery energy storage system.

> “What SkyDrive is proposing is entirely do-able,” says [Steve] Wright [,
> Senior Research Fellow in Avionics and Aircraft Systems at the University of
> West England]. “Almost all rotor-only eVTOL projects are limited to
> sub-30-minute endurance, which, with safety reserves, equate to about 10 to
> 20 minutes flying.”

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ghaff
On a small scale (i.e. for a fair bit of money), some form of helicopter-ish
shuttle service is eminently doable and, in fact, exists. An electric version
is just a variant on a theme. Pan Am had helicopter service from JFK into
Manhattan for first class passengers decades ago.

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ivanche
Mark my words: this will not happen in 2023, nor in 2033, and I'd eat my hat
if it happens in 2043.

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eigenhombre
I'm curious about the noise. In the video shown with the article, there is a
barely audible hum; a helicopter, on the other hand, is audible for miles. A
hundred consumer-scale drones in your neighborhood wouldn't be too bad, but a
hundred helicopters certainly would be.

Edit: clarify "drones"

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erklik
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yc2L5koWZY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yc2L5koWZY)

Seems rather too loud.

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shermanmccoy
It is very wide, those rotors protrude out dangerously, so it would not be
able to land anywhere other than a specialised enclosure. Struggling to see
the point, other than another attempt at realising some childish geekboy
fantasy.

~~~
mentos
As a hobbyist FPV drone pilot I can confidently say I won’t step foot in a
quadcopter that does not have blade guards.

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johnyzee
I always wonder why people are not trying to build these with helium balloons
for lift. This would free up a lot of power for propulsion via the rotors. I
suppose you'd need a very large balloon to lift the entire thing, but why not,
say, one half the size, for some of the lift? This way it wouldn't float away
either.

Anyone know the reasons this is not being done?

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ctack
Drag? It would be like dragging an anchor once you start moving horizontally.
Also, wind.

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matthewfelgate
I don't see electric passenger drone taxis (flying cars) ever having the
reliability: i.e. safety over time to be viable.

I think small electric passenger planes carrying ~10-50 people seems a much
better solution.

But in the future most transportation will be self driving cars for short
distance, electric trains for longer distances, and electric planes long
international travel.

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fortran77
There used to be helicopter service from JFK to the top of the Pan Am building
in NYC.

So "Air Taxis" aren't new

[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/panam-building-
helipad](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/panam-building-helipad)

It took a tragedy to end this service....

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neom
Bloomberg has a pretty good little vignette on this:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nbz5VFilxY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nbz5VFilxY)

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rogerdickey
Not the first time someone was “on track” to roll out flying cars in 3 years
and it won’t be the last

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tchaffee
One use I could see for these long term is getting people outside the
circumference of a very congested road traffic area so they could then use
ground transport. A small reduction in localized congestion can make a huge
difference for even those in it.

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aeternum
Demo flight is not very impressive, others have made much further flights that
look much more stable. The 5 min flight time and 3km range is laughable. EHang
already demoed 23 min years ago.

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markkat
I can't find a video with honest sound. Those blades are not going to be
quiet.

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louhike
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yc2L5koWZY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yc2L5koWZY)

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markkat
Thanks. That’s awfully loud.

