Japanese Electric Flying Car Gets Off The Ground…Briefly!
Japan’s NEC has joined other technology companies, including Boeing and Uber, experimenting with autonomous, electric flying cars. NEC reached a milestone this week when their pilotless prototype actually flew, if only about 10 feet off the ground, and for only about a minute. Still, the unnamed aircraft, looking more like a giant drone than a road-going car, represents what some experts think is our future where personal commuting will not be constrained by roads, rush hour traffic, and available mass transit routes. NEC is not planning to make a flying car themselves, but they do think they can support such efforts with their technology. They also feel that Japan, with its densely packed cities, is perfect for rapid flying car development. Other electric flying car wannabees like Boeing have noted that the big holdup on electric flying is battery technology. Simply put, it takes a lot of electric power to get off the ground and safely stay aloft.