SkyDrive Jepun Melancarkan Perkhidmatan Mobiliti Udara Pada 2025

Startup ini bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa Osaka untuk mempromosikan industri ini.

Sambil impian kereta terbang Malaysia macam sudah mati bersama dengan kerajaan sebelum ini, Jepun nampaknya akan menawarkan perkhidmatan mobiliti udara dalam masa empat tahun melalui sebuah syarikat yang berpusat di Tokyo bernama SkyDrive yang ditubuhkan pada tahun 2018.

Dalam usahanya untuk mendorong penggunaan praktikal kereta terbangnya dan mempromosikan industri ini, syarikat itu baru-baru ini meterai perjanjian dengan Prefektur Osaka dan Bandaraya Osaka.

Bercakap di Kelab Koresponden Asing Jepun yang diadakan minggu lalu, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif syarikat Tomohiro Fukuzawa mengatakan bahawa syarikatnya berhasrat untuk menggunakan Osaka World Expo 2025 untuk melancarkan perkhidmatan mobilitinya dan melakukan demonstrasi dengan membawa pengunjung ke tempat pameran.

Fukuzawa, yang merupakan mantan jurutera Toyota Motor, mengatakan bahawa membangun penerimaan sosial dan mengembangkan ekosistem permulaan juga mungkin dilakukan berdasarkan perjanjian tersebut. Dia menambah bahawa halangan terbesar dalam industri kereta terbang adalah keselamatan dan mendapatkan kepercayaan masyarakat. Untuk tujuan itu, SkyDrive bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa penerbangan awam Jepun untuk menguji setiap komponen dalam kereta terbangnya dan melakukan ujian penerbangan untuk mendapatkan pensijilan.

Kereta terbang yang dimaksudkan, yang secara teknikalnya dikenal sebagai pesawat berlepas dan mendarat menegak elektrik / electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), dilengkapi dengan lapan rotor (dua di setiap sudut), mempunyai satu tempat duduk dan dua kali lebih besar daripada kereta biasa. Berkat kemampuannya untuk berlepas dan mendarat secara menegak, pesawat tersebut dilaporkan tidak memerlukan kemudahan berlepas dan mendarat secara besar-besaran.

Walaupun masih dalam tahap prototaip, pesawat itu telah menyelesaikan penerbangan ujian awam pertama pada bulan Ogos tahun lalu. Syarikat itu mengatakan telah memperoleh $ 48 juta (RM201 juta) dana untuk mengembangkan model dua tempat duduk, yang dapat diperkenalkan pada tahun 2025. Ini jauh lebih besar daripada dana RM1 juta yang diperuntukkan untuk R&D kereta terbang kita.

Ini bukan kali pertama SkyDrive bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa Osaka untuk mendorong pengkomersialan kereta terbang. Akhir tahun lalu, syarikat pemula menjadi anggota utama meja bulat 40 orang yang ditubuhkan oleh pemerintah prefektur untuk membincangkan revolusi mobiliti udara.

Selain itu, syarikat itu juga bekerjasama dengan lima syarikat besar, termasuk kumpulan pembinaan Obayashi Corporation dan Kansai Electric Power, dalam tinjauan kemungkinan perniagaan teksi udara, penemuan yang akan dikemukakan dalam beberapa bulan mendatang.

Untuk maklumat lebih lanjut mengenai perjanjian tersebut, lihat siaran media berikut:

MEDIA RELEASE

SkyDrive Inc. (headquartered in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; Tomohiro FUKUZAWA, CEO) is proud to announce that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Osaka Prefectural Government (Governor: Hirofumi YOSHIMURA) and the Osaka City Government (Mayor: Ichiro MATSUI) for the practical application of its flying cars¹ in Osaka. Together we will promote the development of science and technology, the strengthening of disaster management and response capabilities, the creation of innovation, the revitalization of the region, and the generation of momentum toward World Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai Japan². SkyDrive is a world-leading developer of urban air mobility solutions employing flying cars and cargo drones.

Partnership Agreement on Realization of Flying Cars

Date of Conclusion: September 14, 2021

Objectives of the Partnership

Through the development and practical application of flying cars, we will seek to advance science and technology, strengthen disaster management and response capabilities, develop innovation, revitalize local communities, and drive momentum toward Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Japan.

Details of the Partnership  

1. Demonstration tests to promote the introduction of flying cars in society and commercialization
   i. Conducting demonstration tests 
   ・Demonstration tests will be conducted in Osaka Prefecture in order to identify issues that need to be addressed for the practical application of flying cars in society and for commercializing the flying car business.
   ii. Sharing verification results
   ・Test results, including insights and related information obtained in the demonstrations, will be shared at the Osaka Roundtable for Social Implementation of the Air Mobility Revolution³ (the Roundtable), except for confidential information.
2. Establishment of an environment to improve social acceptance of flying cars
   i. Sending out information 
   ・Send out information about demonstration tests and other events.
   ・Provide information locally and beyond Osaka, including overseas, using a website and social networks.
   ii. Conducting seminars and events
   ・Hold various events such as seminars, workshops, presentations, and awareness-raising lectures for students.
   iii. Preparing the business environment
   ・Seek to establish a favorable environment for promoting the business of flying cars by sharing knowledge and insights widely among the concerned parties at the Roundtable and via other opportunities.
3. Invigoration of regional startup ecosystems in Osaka
   i. Working with SMBs and startups operating in Osaka Prefecture and providing them with opportunities for open innovatio
   ・Provide matching opportunities by hosting business talks, exchange meetings, pitch events, and the like.
   ii. Providing occasions and opportunities for sharing information, experiences, and networks
   ・Seek to encourage businesses, startups, universities, and specialized institutions in and outside Osaka Prefecture to form communities, provide them with occasions, and create opportunities for exchanges.
   iii. Vitalizing startup ecosystems toward Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
   ・Encourage startups to utilize the Expo as an opportunity to demonstrate or implement their products/services.

Background of the Partnership Agreement

The Osaka Prefectural Government established the Roundtable in November 2020 in order to accelerate the introduction of flying cars in the Osaka Bay area and since then the Roundtable has been playing a central role in discussions and practical action geared to achieving this objective.

As a leading developer and manufacturer of flying cars, SkyDrive aims to realize the implementation an air taxi service in the Osaka Bay area for use during Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai. We are working to prepare the ground for service providers and port operators to engage in concrete discussions regarding this plan while also gaining a deeper understanding of local residents and improving social acceptance of flying cars. As such, we have been collaborating with various stakeholders as part of our contribution to the work of the Roundtable.

As one Roundtable initiative, SkyDrive will conduct a “Feasibility Study of an Air Taxi Service Using Flying Cars” this autumn jointly with Obayashi Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Company Inc., Kintetsu Group Holdings Co., Ltd., and Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. This study is expected to clarify the levels of recognition and social acceptance of flying cars as well as verify the feasibility of air taxi services as an ongoing business in future years.⁴ 

In our new partnership with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City we continue striving to advance recognition and social acceptance of flying cars through current and new initiatives with the shared aim of stimulating innovation, creating new industries, and growing the region’s economy while enhancing the quality and convenience of residents’ daily lives and reinforcing disaster management and response capabilities in the Osaka Bay area.