An Italian company has designed a UFO-looking drone that can seat two passengers, reach 120 mph, and fly as high as a helicopter.
The Daily Mail profiles the vehicle called the IFO, short for Identified Flying Object. It was designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini, who works for Jet Capsule.
The IFO has a central capsule, which houses the two occupants and the driving controls. Around the capsule is a disc that contains eight cutouts. Within each cutout are fan blades that power the craft.
Its flight time can go as long as 70 minutes thanks to a series of rechargeable batteries embedded into the carbon fiber frame. The center capsule is about 6½ feet in diameter, while the entire craft is roughly 15½ feet wide. When parked on the ground and resting on its six legs, the craft is a little more than 11 feet high.
In case of an emergency, the craft has a backup battery in the capsule. If a power failure occurs, the capsule detaches from the frame and floats to the ground via a parachute that opens.
"The vehicle does not change much with respect to the technology that is at the base of a standard drone," Lazzarini told the Mail. "But it is driven from the inside and can have the same elevation of a helicopter.
"I'm looking for investors to make it happen — the technology is on the market."
Fortune reported last week drone use in the private market will increase to 3.6 million by 2021. In Utah, meanwhile, lawmakers are working on a bill that would make it illegal to harass livestock with drones.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.