US DoD To Develop And Build HoverBike In The US

In August of 2014, we got our first look at one of the coolest Kickstarter projects ever when the HoverBike broke cover. This device was developed by Malloy Aeronautics and was seeking money from people to help further develop the project. The HoverBike is sort of, like a cross between a helicopter and an ATV designed to allow a rider to take to the skies. If you thought that the HoverBike sounded too farfetched to actually work, the US Department of Defense doesn't agree.

Word has surfaced that the US DoD has entered into a deal with Malloy Aeronautics that will see the DoD develop and build the HoverBike in the US. Malloy Aeronautics says that the HoverBike is designed to do many of the jobs that a helicopter is designed to do without the problems that come with Helicopter design.

Some of the main benefits of the HoverBike over a helicopter include adducted rotors that allow the bike to bump into people and objects without hurting them. The HoverBike is also much cheaper to maintain and run than a helicopter. The HoverBike designers have teamed up with a US firm called SURVICE and the HoverBike will be developed in Maryland.

Malloy Aeronautics sees the HoverBike being useful in search and rescue, first responder services, and other uses. The HoverBike is also able to operate in manned and unmanned modes. Interest in the HoverBike from the DoD certainly doesn't mean the machine will ever be built, but I hope to own one for myself one day.

SOURCE: Reuters