Do you want a flying car? Of course, you do! We were promised by science fiction that flying cars would be everywhere in the year 2000. While we're several decades out from the turn of the millennium, flying cars are finally here and, because humans are generally unchanging, they're already available for racing. This is thanks to MACA, the first hydrogen-powered flying race car.
MACA is a company producing the world's first race car designed to speed above the ground without the need for gasoline. Instead, the cars run entirely on hydrogen, which makes them relatively sustainable and environmentally friendly vehicles.
The current design, known as the MACA S11, looks less like something you would expect to see in the modern world and more like something that you'd expect to see in an advanced sci-fi film. The driver sits in between two levels - the top level, which is at about shoulder level, contains two giant rotors, while the bottom level, which sits below the driver's feet, has two rotors. The upper rotors sit behind the driver on either side, while the bottom rotors sit in front of the driver stacked nearly vertically.
The MACA S11 is first and foremost a race car. As such, it is not just designed to look futuristic, but also designed to go fast. In fact, its top speed is 155 MPH, putting it into a speed category just below NASCAR, which tops out at 200 MPH. When combined with the flying aspect, an event with a MACA S11 will definitely be exciting to watch.
Of course, the MACA S11 is a racing car, but it's also important that it be safe. The company has put a lot of thought into the safety measures of the vehicle. Taking advantage of artificial intelligence technology, the vehicles include software to prevent collisions. When dealing with three dimensions, collisions have a significantly larger potential for great damage and death. So, it's a positive sign that MACA has placed such a premium on including safety precautions.
In addition to personal safety, the company has also put a focus on sustainability. This is why the vehicles are powered by hydrogen fuel instead of traditional propulsion technology. The hydrogen fuel is extracted from water, making it a more green solution. Plus, the hydrogen propulsion produces no carbon dioxide emissions, limiting the environmental impact from races - a very different situation than traditional land races.
Hydrogen fuel is also much more efficient than traditional fuel sources, so MACA's vehicles can travel farther and faster on a single tank of fuel. This means that the races themselves are able to be longer, reaching new heights in terms of entertainment value for viewers. And since hydrogen fuel is cleaner burning, there is less danger of dangerous air pollution being generated near race sites.
Currently, the MACA S11 is in the concept phase, but the company is hoping to bring active racing to market soon. To learn more about the MACA S11 and the future of racing, check out the company's website.
Interview by Don Baine, The Gadget Professor.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
