Flying cars and commercial drones-Exploring the forefront of the "empty road" in the near future-Experience the future society connected by face recognition and the industry changing with 5G! "C & C User Forum & iEXPO 2019" Exhibition Report In a few years, will the era of "flying cars" come and go? -What is the current location of flying cars that will revolutionize mobility and logistics? -The latest trends in flying cars at the Uber Summit

First, develop a business with both MaaS and entertainment

Mr. Kubo: First of all, I would like to start with "flying cars." Currently, SkyDrive, which was born from a volunteer group of engineers, CARTIVATOR, is proceeding with research and development and social implementation of "flying cars" from Japan. Mr. Fukuzawa, first of all, please tell us about SkyDrive's business model.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Daisuke Kubo Since engaging in unmanned aerial vehicle research for scale model flight experiments in the research and development of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, he has specialized in unmanned aerial vehicles.

Mr. Fukuzawa: Currently, companies engaged in research and development of flying cars include major companies such as Boeing and companies aiming for relatively compact and 100% EV development such as us, EHang, and Volocopter. There are two types. While the former is waiting for the legislation to be put into full swing, we are aiming to take advantage of its mobility and implement it in society as soon as possible.

Volunteer organization CARTIVATOR Co-representative Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO of SkyDrive Inc. Engaged in the development of "flying cars" from Japan.He founded SkyDrive in 2018, leveraging his experience gained in management consulting for Toyota Motor Corporation and small and medium-sized manufacturing industries.

One of the business cases we are considering now is a short-distance transportation service between two points. We are discussing routes with two departure and arrival points in Japan, such as Osaka, and overseas, and we hope to start with short-distance transportation services in relatively safe places such as beaches, rivers, and lakes. .. At the same time, we are working to reduce the required specifications from the assumed business model and flight route and reflect them in the next prototype.

We are planning to start manned flight in the near future, but I think that we will limit the flight for a while and repeat the experiment while keeping the flight altitude to a few meters. Through this manned flight, we would like to gain demonstration and experience and refine our business model while incorporating use cases.

Collaboration with local private companies is essential to secure takeoff and landing sites and flight routes in Japan. Therefore, in cooperation with multiple private businesses, we are proceeding with specific studies toward a manned flight business.