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WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Kalashnikovs new hoverbike has civilian and military use cases but most people will just want one to commute in.

 

Last week Kalashnikov, makers of the famous AK-47 and part of the Russian defence giant Rostec, announced that it’s branching out into what it calls “Rideables,” and for their first act they’ve produced an actual, working hoverbike that, admittedly, looks like a giant quadcopter.

 

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Officially though the company is calling their new hoverbike a flying car, which, frankly doesn’t make any sense, and at the moment it’s unclear why they would want to dumb down such a magnificent sci-fi vehicle.

 

Just say “Cool”
 

As you can see in the above video, there’s not much to it at the moment – just eight rotors joined together by a skeletal frame, a couple of joysticks, and what appears to be a couple of batteries located under the driver, and at the end of the video, you can see a shell or chassis superimposed over the vehicle, which gives you a better sense of how Kalashnikov might commercialise it.

 

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After decades of being out of vogue and being labelled “crazy” or “stupid” or both it looks like flying cars, albeit mainly in the form of flying passenger drones, like the ones that are about to enter service in Dubai, are making a comeback with companies like Airbus, who recently showed off their concept, Chinese company EHang, and Uber, among many others all racing to build the first flying cars, taxis or whatever you want to call them, and create the first flying taxi networks.

So, finally, for those of you who are willing to loose an appendage or two, your day in the sun is arriving. Time to get those orders in.

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

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