A Robot Riding a Hoverbike? You Can Own It

Rhykker

Level 16 Scallywag
Feb 28, 2010
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A Robot Riding a Hoverbike? You Can Own It



Malloy Aeronautics is offering a scale model hoverbike with a robot rider as a backer reward for its Kickstarter campaign.

It's a bird... It's a plane... It's... A piece of technology riding another piece of technology. Huh.

Created by Malloy Aeronautics, the Drone 3 Kickstarter campaign [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134513-Aero-X-is-a-Hoverbike-You-Can-Own-in-2017], which is less than three days away from ending.

Looking to raise 30,000 pounds (~$50,000), creator Chris Malloy presently has just over double that amount in pledges. We first reported on Malloy's prototype hoverbike [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110956-Australian-Unveils-Prototype-Hoverbike] in 2011, back when its design used two large, ducted fans for lift. Now, Malloy has shifted to a quadcopter design with partially overlapping fans. The prototype can fold up along two hinges and fit into a custom backpack.

[gallery=3092]

Malloy's team is in the final construction phases of the latest manned prototype, and flight testing is slated to begin in a few months.

[kickstarter=1524806320/hoverbike]

Malloy is based in Australia; in the US, the FAA has been banning delivery drones [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/135691-Sorry-Amazon-but-the-FAA-is-Still-Banning-Delivery-Drones]. While I would love to have a hoverbike - even a scale-model one - I wonder what kind of nightmare it may be to regulate airspace if such technology becomes common. Do you see a future in which everyone gets to ride a hoverbike?

Source: Popular Science [http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/watch-robot-ride-hovercycle]

[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/science-and-tech/]

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Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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*Checks kickstarter*
None of the backer rewards are them giving me a full-scale hoverbike when it's completed.
I am displeased.
I want a damn hoverbike.
 

Pyrian

Hat Man
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Jul 8, 2011
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Huh. That looks possibly functional, though I'm still wondering what kind of mileage it would get, particularly if the whole thing is supposed to fit into a backpack.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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"The robot is riding a hoverbike. Your argument is invalid."

I'm calling it now.

Also, this is frigging cool, but I actually agree with Soup. WE want to ride the hoverbikes, dammit!