Chris WoodAugust 19, 2014A closer look at the Malloy Aeronautics Hoverbike

From left to right: the second prototype Hoverbike, the drone (in flight), and the original dual-rotor prototype (Photo: Chris Wood/Gizmag)

Image Gallery (23 images)

Last month we covered the launch of an interesting Kickstarter project that aimed to jump-start sales of a drone version of a fully-functional hover bike. The quadcopter drone acts as a proof of concept for the full-sized manned vehicle, with proceeds from the crowdfunding effort intended to fuel the continued development of the final vehicle. Gizmag visited the Malloy Aeronautics workshop in the UK to take a closer look at the Hoverbike project.

With more than a week remaining before the Kickstarter campaign concludes, its funding goal has been exceeded and development is moving forward at pace. Though the manned Hoverbike is what tends to garner the most attention, the one third scale drones are actually the focus of the Kickstarter effort.

The quadcopter drone can be accompanied by an anthropomorphic, 3D-printed figure known as Cyborg Buster, which features a space to fit a GoPro camera in its head. The drone is capable of following the pilot, following a predetermined flight path, and even has the ability to perform automatic take-off and landing maneuvers.

At this stage, there are three versions of the Hoverbike. The original two rotor manned vehicle, the quadcopter drone, and the still-in-development second prototype Hoverbike.

Thanks to the crowdfunding campaign, we’ve seen quite a lot of the drone, but the full-sized vehicle, in its MK2 state, has remained something of a mystery. Though we’re still a few months out from seeing the finished prototype, the full-sized Hoverbike is already an imposing sight. The quadrotor frame is similar to the drones offered on Kickstarter, but decidedly more angular, constructed from a combination of carbon sheet and aircraft-grade aluminum.

The design of the manned vehicle is cleverly thought out and features a number of interesting design points, such as adjustable weighting in the central section to ensure correct balancing regardless of pilot physique, a self-cutting rotor channel, and offset rotor placement.

In its current, rotor-less state, the inside of the circular, protective blade housing is filled with UV-stabilized polycarbonate (as pictured below). Once the rotors are fitted, they’ll cut through the material, creating a channel that reduces the clearance between the propeller top and duct wall.

The offset design of the four rotors allows the protective frame around one of the blades to be used as a mounting for the other, meaning that the revised vehicle can keep its narrow profile, making it practical for negotiating difficult terrain.

Though the act of designing and creating a fully functional hover bike may seem technologically Herculean, there’s no practical barrier to making it happen, at least not with the quadrotor design Chris Malloy and his team are working on with the Hoverbike. While public skepticism may be a significant barrier, the real challenge is bringing together existing technology, while making the vehicle safe, practical and economically viable.

The move from a dual to quad rotor setup is all about stability. The original Hoverbike design was certainly eye-catching, but it suffered from significant practical problems – namely, that if it were to reach a certain angle in a turn, it would become difficult for the pilot to right the vehicle. This is no longer an issue with the quadcopter design, with the varying thrust of the four rotors affording the vehicle significant stability.

If you find yourself talking to someone about a project such as this, one paramount area of concern that quickly arises is safety, and understandably so. Despite its name, the Hoverbike is not a hovercraft. It will travel up to altitudes in the thousands of feet, as well as achieve significant forward momentum.

One key piece of the puzzle here, and something that should assuage many safety concerns, is that the manned Hoverbike will be equipped with autopilot capabilities, just like the drone version. This means that though the vehicle can be piloted, a significant margin of human error can be removed from the equation.

The autopilot function also provides the option to remotely control the craft, making it well suited to supply drops, search and rescue operations over difficult terrain, and a whole host of other applications. From mountain rescue scenarios to Red Bull Air Race-esque sports applications, the list of potential uses for the vehicle seems practically endless.

With the Kickstarter project having already exceeded its funding goal, and with murmurs of outside funding, the project is moving full steam ahead. Once the crowdfunding effort concludes on August 31, the team will continue to sell the quadcoptor drones, and plans to test the manned-vehicle within a few months.

If you’re interested in being part of the effort, then you can head over to the project’s Kickstarter page. For more images of the both the first and second prototypes of the Hoverbikes, and the quadcopter drone, head to the gallery.

Source: Malloy Aeronautics

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深入了解Malloy Aeronautics Hoverbike 仔細看看馬里航空hoverbike

從左到右：二原型hoverbike，無人駕駛飛機（飛行），和原來的雙轉子樣機（攝影：克里斯伍德/ Gizmag）

圖像畫廊（23張）
上個月我們覆蓋一個有趣的Kickstarter項目的推出，旨在啟動銷售一個全功能的無人機懸停自行車版。直升機無人機作為完整的一個概念證明大小的載人飛船，與眾籌的努力旨在燃料的車輛的持續發展最終收益。通過走訪英國馬里航空車間采取仔細看看hoverbike項目。

用了一個多星期前的剩余的Kickstarter的運動的結論，其資金的目標已經超過，在PAC向前發展E.盡管載人飛行摩托車是什么會得到最大的關注，三分之一規模的無人機是Kickstarter的努力重點。

直升機無人機可以伴隨著一個擬人化的，3D打印的圖被稱為機器人的克星，具有空間容納GoPro相機在它的頭。無人機能夠試點后，在預定的飛行路徑，甚至已經完成自動起飛和著陸機動能力。

在這個階段，有三個版本的飛行摩托車。原來兩旋翼載人車輛、直升機和無人機，仍然在發展二原型hoverbike。

感謝crowdfunding活動，我們已經看到了相當多的無人機，但全尺寸的車輛，在MK2的狀態，仍然是個謎。雖然我們還在幾個月看到完成的原型，全尺寸的飛行摩托車已經是一個宏偉的景象。旋翼結構類似于提供在Kickstarter上無人機，但絕對更角，由一個組合的碳片和航空級鋁合金。

設計載人飛船是巧妙的設計和功能的一些有趣的設計點，這樣在中央部分可調加權無論飛行員體質保證正確的平衡，一種自我切割轉子通道，并抵消轉子位置。

在其電流、轉子少的狀態，在循環里面，保護葉片外殼充滿紫外線穩定的聚碳酸酯（如下圖所示）。一旦轉子安裝，他們會通過減少材料，創建了一個通道，降低了螺旋槳的頂部和管壁之間的間隙。

偏移設計的四轉子使防護架周圍有葉片作為安裝的其他意義，修訂后的車輛可以保持其窄的輪廓，這使得談判困難地形實用。

盡管和創建一個全功能的氣墊摩托設計行為似乎是技術上的艱巨的，沒有任何實際障礙真希NG的話，至少不與旋翼設計克里斯馬洛伊和他的團隊正在與hoverbike。雖然公眾的懷疑可能是一個顯著的障礙，真正的挑戰是匯集現有的技術，同時使車輛安全，實用和經濟上可行的。原設計為hoverbike固然搶眼，但遭受重大的現實問題–即，如果它是一個將達到一定的角度，這將為駕駛員對車輛變得困難。這不再是一個與直升機設計的問題，與四個轉子提供車輛穩定性顯著變推力。

如果你發現自己跟別人這樣一個項目，擔心很快出現了一個至關重要的地區是安全的，這是可以理解的。盡管它的名字，是不是一個氣墊船的飛行摩托車。它會游到在千丈的高度，以及實現顯著的前進的動力。

關鍵的一塊拼圖，而應該減輕許多安全問題，是載人飛行摩托車將配備自動駕駛功能，就像無人機版。這意味著，雖然車輛可以駕駛，人為誤差的幅度可以從方程。

自動駕駛功能還可以遠程控制工藝，使得它非常適合于供應下降，搜救行動在困難的地形，以及一大堆其他應用程序。從山地救援場景紅牛賽車風格的運動應用程序，對車輛的潛在用途清單似乎無窮無盡。

與Kickstarter的項目已經超過了其融資目標，并與外部資金的雜音，該項目正全速提前。一旦crowdfunding努力在8月31日結束，球隊將繼續出售quadcoptor無人駕駛飛機，并計劃在幾個月內載人飛船試驗。

如果你正在努力的一部分感興趣，那么你可以在項目的Kickstarter頁面。更多的的第一和第二原型的hoverbikes圖像，和直升機的嗡嗡聲，頭向畫廊。

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