Why does this not sound like a necessarily great idea? A startup in Japan has unveiled a one-person drone intended to be flown like a motorcycle, hurtling through the air and around corners at top speeds of 100 kmh.
This week, Japan’s A.L.I. Technologies staged a trial flight of its drone motorcycle – or hoverbike, as the company calls it – at a racetrack in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. The computer-generated official video for the Xturismo craft features a futuristic-looking MotoGP rider putting it through the paces in a variety of outdoor settings, and enjoying the all-terrain mobility of motocross without the dust, projectile dirt clods, and constant risk to severe injury that usually involves.
The footage of the Xturismo’s test flight, however, captured a far more contained and cautious outing, with the deafening craft remaining aloft for all of 90 seconds as it performed a few basic moves.
A.L.I. Technologies is primarily a UAV producer, but…
