Honda Motor Company introduced plans to innovate in new enterprise areas like electrical vertical take-off and touchdown plane (eVTOL), bipedal robots and house know-how.
Honda R&D Co., Honda Motor Company’s (HMC) improvements arm, will likely be main the hassle on “outside-the-box research on technologies that will bring about new value for people by expanding the potential of mobility into the third dimension, then the fourth dimension which defies the constraints of time and space, and ultimately into outer space,” in keeping with the corporate.
It sounds just like the stuff of a sci-fi novel, and certainly a few of these improvements may not find yourself panning out in the long run, however throughout Thursday’s briefing, the corporate demonstrated how its core applied sciences developed over the previous 73 years – like combustion, electrification, management and robotics – might evolve to go well with the aim of a future world with vastly completely different mobility wants.
Hybrid eVTOLs and a corresponding mobility ecosystem
Image Credits: Honda Motor Company
The distinction between an eVTOL and a helicopter is especially that the previous has a number of propellers, every of which have an unbiased motor pushed by electrical energy from a battery, whereas the latter has one giant, and loud, rotor on the high. As a outcome, eVTOLs are typically anticipated to be safer, quieter and cleaner.
While many of the eVTOL being developed world wide are all-electric, HMC goals to “leverage its electrification technologies and develop Honda eVTOL equipped with a gas turbine hybrid power unit,” in keeping with a press release from the corporate. The firm first introduced its intentions to develop applied sciences on this house throughout a press convention in April, during which HMC additionally said its objectives to promote 100% EVs by 2050.
Marcos Frommer, supervisor of company communications at HMC, defined in the course of the press briefing that all-electric eVTOLs have a really brief vary because of the battery capability per mass, which suggests most use instances for these new autos will likely be restricted to brief distance flights, reminiscent of intercity transportation and shuttle flights. Even Joby Aviation, which just lately introduced plans to commercialize by 2024, solely just lately accomplished the longest check flight of an eVTOL so far, and that was about 150 miles on a single cost.
“According to the results of our market research, the largest demand for mobility by eVTOL aircraft is for longer distance such as intercity transportation with a range up to 250 miles,” stated Frommer. “Due partly to the electrification of our automobiles Honda is putting its effort in research and development of lithium-ion batteries. However, advancement based on the current lithium-ion battery is expected to increase the energy density per capacity by only about several times in the next 20 years. So we believe that for mobility in the skies, which requires further weight reduction, it’s difficult to achieve long distance using batteries only.”
Frommer stated if batteries advance extra sooner or later, HMC can select to make its eVTOLs all-electric by eradicating the fuel turbine generator.
Honda Introduces Initiatives in New Areas, Taking on Challenges in New Areas whereas Leveraging Its Core Technologies
The firm says it needs to create a brand new “mobility ecosystem” that options eVTOL at its core and is related to mobility merchandise on the bottom. Per the animated instance HMC confirmed in the course of the briefing, a enterprise government dwelling in Cape Cod would possibly be capable to use a single app to ebook a hybrid eVTOL to take him to his workplace in New York City, which might be a mere two hour commute by air. The app is likely to be related to his private autonomous Honda car, which might chat to him concerning the climate because it drove him to a mobility hub for takeoff. When he landed an autonomous shuttle can be there ready within the Big Apple to take him to his workplace. After a day of simple commuting, he’d be residence in dinner time on the veranda together with his household.
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