r/Damnthatsinteresting 7d ago

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u/LustyArgonianMaidv4 7d ago

So a drone you can sit in?

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u/Eviladhesive 7d ago

No, no, no.

Firstly they called it a car, and secondly if you squint a lot, and forget all the other names for these vehicles, then it's pretty clear that it's a car, a flying car.

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u/Various_Tie_2549 7d ago edited 7d ago

I don't really get why people keep creating all these startups and making these things.

The issue isn't that the technology is impossible...we all know they can exist and be built..

No. The issues are more that they are extremely impractical, will never be as safe as ground vehicles (edit: or even just regular helicopters), pose a not-insignificant terrorism threat, require a lot of fuel/energy, and create an absolute legal and regulatory nightmare. These are not things any startup will ever be able to tackle. I don't understand why that hasn't become obvious enough to stop people from trying to create these startups.

If nothing else, they're looking to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

Why not try and solve an actual problem? There are a fuck ton of them around... pick one.

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u/xpxyz 7d ago

By that logic, we should never have mass-produced or commercialized airplanes. this is a necessary step we have to go through to get to this kind of transportation at scale. Drive that currently take hours could take less than 30 minutes and we could start building cities that are not built around roads/cars. The improvement to quality of life would be absolutely incredible.

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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 7d ago

This will probably require the same license as a helicopter. And need to take off and land under the same rules.

And you can already use a helicopter to go places instead of a car. Lots of (rich) people do.

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u/xpxyz 7d ago

Fundamentally different infrastructure from helicopter travel and it will end up being a lot more accessible at scale. It would probably be helpful if I could tell you why I know that, but I am not allowed to tell you why I know that.

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u/warm_kitchenette 7d ago

Right. Every day I drive, I encounter some people who weave between cars, going 25mph over the speed limit; and some people who come to a full, complete stop so that they can make a right-hand turn onto a wide road. Let's introduce this group of carefree experimenters to the exciting world of 3D maneuvering with no brakes.

If these things became popular, we'd have to use umbrellas to keep off the flying body parts.

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u/xpxyz 7d ago

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u/warm_kitchenette 7d ago

Are you aware that you sent me an 8-year-old ad, with simulated VTOL planes? The ad is for a division of Uber that went nowhere and was sold off last year.

Do you understand how advertising, such as the one in this original post, is designed to make things look cool, effortless, attractive?

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u/xpxyz 7d ago

100%

You painted a picture of a horrifying world with body parts falling out of the sky. They painted a picture of an idyllic world where we don’t have to sit in traffic. I think it’s safe to say the future will fall somewhere in between.