Flying cars are coming sooner than you think

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the way of the future. One futurist predicts the hi-tech inventions that could be coming sooner than you think.

We all watched The Jetsons and either laughed at or desperately wanted its futuristic flying cars.

Now, more than 50 years on, the idea may soon be a reality.

“The technology is there, it’s just not yet mainstream,” futurist and author Gihan Perera says. “Some very futuristic things could be on the horizon very soon.”

From air taxis and flying suits to drones delivering online shopping, technological advancements show no signs of slowing down. If anything, regulators simply can’t keep up.

“I think we can see it happening in the next five years, for sure,” Perera says. “With things like drones especially, they’re just around the corner because we’ve got them already. We’re just waiting for the regulation.

“Things like flying cars are a little bit further away. But still, there are companies now experimenting with flying cars.”

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Here are some of the most ambitious transport and tech we can expect in the very near future.

In May, Uber unveiled its new design for an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) at the 2018 Elevate Summit.

DRONE DELIVERIES

While online shopping has revolutionised the way we spend our money, Perera suggests that drone delivery will be the next best thing since same day, three-hour delivery. In fact, some retail giants like Amazon have already invested in the technology.

“Amazon already has them but they can’t use it, they can’t release it yet,” he says.

“One, is because governments need to regulate the air space; we just saw that recently where the fear of a drone shut down Gatwick Airport for a few days. And the second thing about the Amazon drones is that customers are worried that they’re maybe going to miss them and they won’t leave deliveries on their doorstep.”

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While the retail giant is pushing ahead with plans to use drones for quick deliveries, there is no fixed timeline in place.

“We are committed to making our goal of delivering packages by drones in 30 minutes or less a reality,” an Amazon spokeswoman recently told The Seattle Times.

Amazon has already designed mini-drones that would be used to fly small packages to customers.

FLYING SUITS

Drones aren’t the only innovations being made. Britain’s real-life “Iron Man,” Richard Browning, made headlines last year when he demonstrated his homemade flying suit, gliding down a quiet London street.

“When we built this, we didn’t really imagine at the outset we’d be revolutionising human transport, going to the shops or picking up the kids from school,” Browning told CNN.

His original jet suit sold at London’s upmarket Selfridges department store for £340,000 ($A612,000), reportedly nabbed by a high-profile, as-yet-unnamed client.

While he admires the craftsmanship, Perera doesn’t think ordinary civilians will be able to pick up their own flying suits any time soon.

“It’s not actually commercially available because it’s not regulated at the moment. And that’s the problem with a lot of this technology” he says.

AIR TAXIS

According to Perera, long commutes could also be a thing of the past.

With multiple tech companies developing their own VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicles, current projects are aiming to take your ordinary commute to new heights.

Of all the companies looking into air transport, Uber’s plan is easily one of the most ambitious.

“Uber are interested in transport of all kinds. And one of the things they’re looking at is flying cars. Getting a flying car would be like the equivalent of a helicopter, but it’s not a big thing with rotors,” he says. “Lots of companies have models already.”

Concept vehicles for Uber’s flying car project, UberAIR.

Considering the air space is already regulated, Perera predicts airports will be the first to create infrastructure if flying passenger drones get the green light.

“It’s not like a huge helicopter that needs a wide open space to land,” he says. “They’d probably start off by having designated spots where they take off from and where they land. Obviously at the airport, because they already have regulations and they understand about aviation.”

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In terms of how soon we can expect to see Uber taxis and Amazon drones zipping through the sky, Perera again says it all depends on regulation.

“A lot of the regulators around the world are looking at these very seriously because at the moment, they aren’t really regulated.

Plans for Skyports as part of Uber’s flying car project, UberAIR.

“Until we have some laws around it, I think companies are reluctant to invest a lot of money in this because they’re worried about what the restrictions might be.”

Perera predicts countries with struggling transport networks will be early adopters of this new technology, followed by Australia in later years.

“We’ll be watching closely what other countries are doing. And there are other countries who don’t have a lot of our transport infrastructure at the moment, so they’ll be jumping on this really quickly,” he says.

“In Australia it will start off being a bit of a luxury and maybe a bit of a gimmick because people, for now, are happy to drive. But imagine what an amazing world it will be when you can get into a flying taxi and drive yourself or have it drive you.”