Important Innovations Collection

  D A ILY INNOVATION BRIEF                By Journalists Edward Kane & Marya nne Kane FLYING CAR LANDS ON ROOFTOPS                                                                                Source:  SkyDrive The government of Japan is backing a highly innovative flying car that's designed for commuters and can land on rooftops.  Here's what we know: The Japanese government is investing $82 million into Japan-based eVTOL company SkyDrive The funding is part of Japan's innovation initiative for startups with high potential for growth and impact The investment money is for the accelerated development of SkyDrive's flying car that is designed for the commuting public eVTOL'S unique patent pending m...

 2-Seat eVTOLs Made in Japan                                                  Source:  SkyDrive Hot Japanese Startup SkyDrive Japanese eVTOL startup SkyDrive intends to introduce flying taxi service at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.  The company just unveiled its new, two seat SD-05 eVTOL which will be the flying taxi vehicle taking passengers on short flights around the big event.  SD-05 is the next technological iteration on the original one-seat, sporty prototype SD-03 which has been successfully flown in demonstrations in Japan since it was introduced in 2020.  SkyDrive is a hot eVTOL startup with a partnership with Suzuki and millions of dollars in investment money bankrolling the development of its flying taxis. It just raised $66 million in a Series C funding round to build the SD-5's as well as its cargo d...

Sky and Drive Commuting in Japan                                                        Source:  SkyDrive Automaker & Flying Car Startup Partner on Flying/Driving Taxis One of the world's leading automotive and motorcycle makers Suzuki and Japanese flying taxi startup SkyDrive are partnering to launch fleets of flying taxis, first in the Osaka Bay area of Japan in 2025.  SkyDrive's new vehicle called SD-XX is an eVTOL or electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle that operates like a helicopter and doesn't need a traditional runway to take-off from and land on.  Of big interest, SD-XX can drive to other locations once it lands.  SkyDrive has big backers in Toyota, Panasonic and Fujitsu.  SkyDrive intends to put the SD-XX prototype into commercial production in 2023.  Now p...

Flying Car Testing in the Public Domain by 2022                                        Source:  SkyDrive Flying Cars on the Roads & in the Sky by 2023 The government of Japan is a big believer in the importance of flying cars in the Japanese transportation mix.  In fact, it wants flying cars operational on the roads and in the sky by 2023.  To facilitate that goal, it is allowing public domain testing in 2022.  Clearly, Japan is a global leader in the effort to deploy flying cars. Japanese Collaborative Effort What differentiates Japan is strong collaboration between the government and private companies to bring flying cars into widespread use.  The government wants to deploy flying cars and passenger drones as short distance transportation solutions in cities, rural areas and in disaster relief zones. SkyDrive An outstanding flying car vehicle ...

Crowdfunded, Toyota-backed, Volunteer Team Building a Flying Car Source:  Cartivator's Concept Flying Car Skydrive Cartivator Innovation Volunteers This is an extraordinary and inspiring story of technology advancement and individuals' commitment to creating innovation.  In Japan, volunteers in a "Cartivator" group are building the Skydrive flying car, shown above.  This is a crowdfunded effort that has gotten the backing of Japanese auto giant Toyota, where some of the Cartivators work.  They and Toyota want to fly the Skydrive to light the flame at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. CES Las Vegas 2019 A scaled down version of the "Toyota flying car" will be shown at the big annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.  The Cartivator team is a group of weekend warriors working on the Skydrive during their weekends.  And they have a plan.  They're aiming to build a prototype, establish a theory of flight control...