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Start-up company Cartivator has announced their intent to light the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch using a flying car.
The company, composed mostly of young engineers, started the SkyDrive project in 2014. The preliminary model of the flying vehicle previously won a competition, which eventually inspired the engineers to continue developing it.
Cartivator has recently received 42.5 million yen from Toyota Motor Corporation to further develop the SkyDrive flying car prototype. Its design will replicate a technology found in drones, which have a vertical take-off and a landing mechanism that does not require roads or runways.
The proposed final model for SkyDrive will have a length of 9.5 feet, a width of 4.2 feet and will stand at around 3.4 feet. It will have three wheels, four sets of propellers and is expected to travel at the maximum flying speed of 100 kilometers per hour. In addition, it will be powered by a battery and manned from the inside.
Project leader Tsubasa Nakamura stated that Cartivator aims to deliver a flawless shift from driving to flying. They plan to launch SkyDrive’s final model in urban areas and eventually sell it commercially by 2025.
SkyDrive’s latest prototype can take off from the ground and float in the air for a couple of seconds using an external gadget, but in 2019, the engineers aim to conduct the first manned flight, which is the last step before it can be used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame lighting ceremony.