SkyDrive Unveils Ultra-Compact Emission-Free Flying Vehicle at CES 2022

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Tokyo-based aero tech startup SkyDrive has revealed its Model SD-03, an ultra-light and compact flying vehicle that recently completed testing for piloted flight.This is the company’s first time showcasing its full-scale SD-03 outside of Japan.

SkyDrive’s electric VTOL (vertical take-off and land) flying car is emission free and designed with stability in mind. This vehicle allows for safe rapid door-to-door transportation anywhere, including uses for emergency rescue. An SD-05 model is actively being developed, and is under consideration for use as an air taxi for the World Expo 2025 in Osaka. Having recently advanced toward commercialization with the Japanese transportation ministry’s acceptance of its type certificate application for SD-05, SkyDrive is the first and only flying vehicle developer to meet this milestone in Japan to date.

“The SD-03 model is the culmination of our expertise in drone technologies and aerodynamic engineering,” said SkyDrive COO Takehiro Sato. “What we want to see in the future is that SkyDrive’s emission-free vehicles take off from and land in your parking lot and helipads atop buildings, making door-to-door air travel a realistic choice of daily urban transportation. We are working harder and faster than ever to make this once-in-a-century mobility revolution a reality.”

On January 3rd, SkyDrive exhibited a miniature model of the SD-03 at CES in Las Vegas. From January 5th to 7th, a full-scale SD-03 will be on display for attendees to climb aboard at the J-Startup Pavilion in Eureka Park.

Established in July 2018, SkyDrive has since been furthering its development on flying cars and cargo drones in an effort to work towards a future where people can use air mobility as a means of transportation in their daily lives.

Read more about urban air mobility, urban air mobility infrastructure, and flying cars.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.