Passenger drones might be buzzing across the skies of Dubai as early as July. Unlike the autonomous EHang 184 that will be used in the UAE, Hoversurf has created the world's first fully-manned electric hoverbike.
The Russian startup has released a video of its Hoverbike Scorpion-3 that is basically a single-seat giant quadcopter. It is far from being a Star Wars scout trooper speeder bike but what really matters is it's not science fiction.
Scorpion-3 Platform
The manufacturer gives the pilot full control, and the experience can be terrifying as the video of the Scorpion-3 below shows:
"Scorpion platform is a single-seat aircraft that rediscovers the art of flying and hovering enabling a hi-tech quadcopter-based solution. It’s a unique electric-powered vessel combining a motorcycle seat with quadcopter drone technology bringing speed agility and stability of flight to the hands of amateur and professional navigators," said Hoversurf in a statement.
The platform used for the S-3 is engineered to be used for hoverbikes, drone-cars, cargo drones, and drone-taxis.
"Scorpion platform is the next step in accessible amateur flying developed to inspire athletes, engineers, scientists and inventors around the world," the manufacturer added.
Hovercraft is hoping that its creation will one day jump from just being an instrument for extreme sports into being a normal mode of transportation.
The hoverbike's platform is specifically engineered for extreme conditions and makes use of custom software that will allow for automated or full manual control of the vehicle. It is part of a series of projects that include E-Volo, the E-Hang, among others.
The design of the hoverbike is patterned after sport-utility bikes combined with flight concepts of good maneuvering and speed.
Is S-3 Hoverbike Safe?
The video does not really show much but it is noticeable that extreme caution was taken by the pilot to control the hoverbike and avoid hitting anything.
"Scorpion platform is equipped with a safety system powered by state of the art flight controllers, special logical programming and passive elements with computer aided speed and altitude limiting," said the manufacturer.
Other Hoversurf Concepts
Hoversurf also has a futuristic vision of drone taxis as traffic solution for big cities. It outlines its drone taxi concept platforms on its website and foresees commercial drone taxi operations come 2018.
The company is also looking into creating cargo drones that can carry loads between 200 pounds. and 5,500 pounds. Such heavy lifters will be perfect or terrain reconnaissance, equipment delivery in remote locations, geological exploration, and rescue or evacuation operations.
Hoversurf has not revealed that price tag of the Scorpion-3.
So, for now add the hoverbike to your wish list. Don't forget to consider flying cars such as AeroMobil's self-flying car or Pal-V's Liberty.
