The bulk of drones are unmanned vehicles that are controlled remotely. However, we have seen some ideas floated that suggests that maybe one day in the future, manned drones could be a new form of personal vehicle that we can look forward to. It seems that that future is kind of here over in Cambodia.
In Phnom Penh, a group of students have created their own manned drone that actually works. Inspired by the desire to beat the city’s notorious traffic jams, this drone can fit a human up to 60kg in weight and can fly as high as four meters for 10 minutes. We know, 10 minutes probably won’t get you very far, but considering that this is the effort of students who don’t have the resources of a huge tech company, it’s very impressive.
It seems that this drone was also a labor of love where it took them about 3 years to get to this point, while also spending as much as $20,000 in the process. However, they are far from done and the students estimate that they need an additional two more years before it is fully ready and tested. It is also estimated that by the end, the project could end up costing $40,000.
In addition to beating traffic jams, the students envision that it could also be used to fight fires, where it could be used to help transport water or carry the hose up to higher floors in a faster and more efficient manner.