ABIKO: Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. showed a “flying car,” that hovered steadily for about a minute. The car has four propellers, looks like a large drone-like machine.
The test flight reaching 3 meters (10 feet) high was held in a gigantic cage, as a safety precaution, at an NEC facility in a Tokyo suburb. The preparations such as the repeated checks on the machine and warnings to reporters to wear helmets took up more time than the two brief demonstrations.
The Japanese government is behind flying cars, with the goal of having people zipping around in them by the 2030s.
A flying car by Japanese startup Cartivator crashed quickly in a 2017 demonstration. Cartivator Chief Executive Tomohiro Fukuzawa, who was at Monday’s demonstration, said their machines were also flying longer lately.
NEC is among the more than 80 sponsor companies for Cartivator’s flying car, which also include Toyota Motor Corp. group companies and video game company Bandai Namco Holdings.
(Agencies)
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