A startup backed by the Japanese automaker has developed a test model that engineers hope will eventually develop into a tiny car with a driver who'll be able to light the Olympic torch in the 2020 Tokyo games.

 

日本丰田汽车赞助的一个创业团队正在研发一个测试车型，工程师们希望最终制造一辆单人小车，驾驶员操纵这辆车可以点燃2020年东京奥运会主火炬。
 

 

For now, however, the project is a concoction¹ of aluminum² framing and eight propellers³ that barely gets off the ground and crashes after several seconds.

 

Toyota has invested 42.5 million yen⁴ ($386,000) in startup Cartivator Resource Management to work on "Sky Drive ." At a test flight Saturday in the city where the automaker is based, the gadgetry⁵, about the size of a car and loaded with batteries and sensors⁶, blew up a lot of sand and made a lot of noise.

 

It managed to get up as high as eye level for several seconds before tilting⁷ and falling to the ground. Basketballs attached to its bottom served as cushions. After several attempts, the endeavor had to be canceled after one of the covers got detached from the frame and broke, damaging the propellers.

 

The goal of Cartivator's is to deliver a seamless transition from driving to flight, like the world of "Back to the Future," said the project's leader Tsubasa Nakamura.

 

"I always loved planes and cars. And my longtime dream was to have a personal vehicle that can fly and go many places," he told The Associated Press.

 

The group is now working on a better design with the money from Toyota with the plan to have the first manned flight in 2019. No one has ridden on Sky Drive yet, or any drone, as that would be too dangerous.

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