Scale Hoverbike Has Robot Rider

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For the past five years, Chris Malloy and his company Malloy Aeronautics have been developing the hoverbike-originally resembling a flying motorcycle with two horizontal fans. A four-fan, 1/3 scale prototype UAV-complete with a robot rider (named Buster)-is now flying and copies of what is called Drone 3 are available for those who want to invest some of the needed funds for the full-size aircraft through Kickstarter. A Malloy Aeronautics video depicts a Drone 3 in flight, showing its capabilities, including delivering a glass of orange juice to a couple seated on a patio and making a water drop to put out a fire in a barbeque grill. The narrator points out that the fan blades are shrouded to protect people who may be near the UAV.

On its website, Malloy Aeronautics states that the hoverbike has been designed to replace conventional helicopters such as the R22 in everyday one-person operation. Its goal is to produce a reliable helicopter with true pilot safety built into the design. Specs for the four-fan helicopter have not been released-Malloys website promises them in the coming weeks. However, it says that the hoverbike will be more than a recreational form of personal transportation as its low price and practical size will lend it to search and rescue, first-responder emergency services and insertion of up to 265 pounds of cargo into confined spaces. It will have a fly-by-wire control system so that it can be flown as a piloted vehicle or a UAV.

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