ET BureauBANGALORE: As overseas automakers AeroMobil and Terrafugia prepare to launch their flying cars, a 56-year-old engineer in Bangalore is attempting to rewrite the science for the next generation of such vehicles.
The Wright brothers were able to recreate a bird's flight, without requiring their plane to flap its wings -something that Terrafugia and AeroMobil have followed.AK Vishwanath is trying to replicate this, using the insect paradigm.
Insects manipulate the air in a different way. The airflow that an insect creates through flutter is the key to Vishwanath's invention. The USP of his flying car, which is still in the proof-of-concept stage, is that it can take off and land vertically and can be retrofitted into any car. “We have to rescience the technology and create a platform which we can milk for the next century,“ said Vishwanath, a graduate of electrical engineering from BMS College of Engineering.
When Vishwanath saw a flying car in the 1968 film `Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' little did the 12-year-old know that the movie would define his life. Unmarried and unemployed for the past decade, the engineer has staked all for his “Avishcar.“
The concept of the flying car has been around since US aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss patented one in 1917. However, the lack of sustainable business models and the requirement of large rotors, runways and extendable wings confined the concept to sci-fi movies and novels.
Vishwanath claims he can recreate the airflows of over 20 insect species, allowing an object to cruise, hover, stall and take off.His creation sits in the hubs of car wheels.Little winglets attached along the sides of the car use the airflow to lift the car about 3-4 feet. After a 10-year study, the engineer is ready to showcase his first proof of concept at Aero India 2015 to be held in February in Bangalore. The engineer is on the lookout for funds from angel investors to the tune of Rs 5.5-6 crore.
AeroMobil, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, plans to unveil the world's first production-ready flying car in Vienna this month. Woburn, Massachusettsbased Terrafugia, which will deploy the Transition range of flying cars in 2016, said its aim is to perfect the TF-X, a vertical take-off and landing vehicle. The anticipated base purchase price for the Transition is $279,000, according to the company's website. The company has 100 pre-orders and has attracted investors from India as well, Carl Dietrich, CEO and co-founder of Terrafugia, told ET.
Flying cars will be available for a niche market in 20 to 25 years, the way $70,000 Tesla electric cars are available today, according to the US-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
With two patents to his name, Vishwanath says the science can be spun off to support diverse fields -redesigning drones to fly higher with a heavier package and extending the mileage of electric cars by capturing and manipulating outside winds to charge the battery, among others.
“I don't know about failure. But the goal is to bring flight to common man and herald personal aviation,“ Vishwanath said.
The Wright brothers were able to recreate a bird's flight, without requiring their plane to flap its wings -something that Terrafugia and AeroMobil have followed.AK Vishwanath is trying to replicate this, using the insect paradigm.
Insects manipulate the air in a different way. The airflow that an insect creates through flutter is the key to Vishwanath's invention. The USP of his flying car, which is still in the proof-of-concept stage, is that it can take off and land vertically and can be retrofitted into any car. “We have to rescience the technology and create a platform which we can milk for the next century,“ said Vishwanath, a graduate of electrical engineering from BMS College of Engineering.
When Vishwanath saw a flying car in the 1968 film `Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' little did the 12-year-old know that the movie would define his life. Unmarried and unemployed for the past decade, the engineer has staked all for his “Avishcar.“
The concept of the flying car has been around since US aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss patented one in 1917. However, the lack of sustainable business models and the requirement of large rotors, runways and extendable wings confined the concept to sci-fi movies and novels.
Vishwanath claims he can recreate the airflows of over 20 insect species, allowing an object to cruise, hover, stall and take off.His creation sits in the hubs of car wheels.Little winglets attached along the sides of the car use the airflow to lift the car about 3-4 feet. After a 10-year study, the engineer is ready to showcase his first proof of concept at Aero India 2015 to be held in February in Bangalore. The engineer is on the lookout for funds from angel investors to the tune of Rs 5.5-6 crore.
AeroMobil, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, plans to unveil the world's first production-ready flying car in Vienna this month. Woburn, Massachusettsbased Terrafugia, which will deploy the Transition range of flying cars in 2016, said its aim is to perfect the TF-X, a vertical take-off and landing vehicle. The anticipated base purchase price for the Transition is $279,000, according to the company's website. The company has 100 pre-orders and has attracted investors from India as well, Carl Dietrich, CEO and co-founder of Terrafugia, told ET.
Flying cars will be available for a niche market in 20 to 25 years, the way $70,000 Tesla electric cars are available today, according to the US-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
With two patents to his name, Vishwanath says the science can be spun off to support diverse fields -redesigning drones to fly higher with a heavier package and extending the mileage of electric cars by capturing and manipulating outside winds to charge the battery, among others.
“I don't know about failure. But the goal is to bring flight to common man and herald personal aviation,“ Vishwanath said.
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