飞行汽车即将成真 日本公司进行原型测试 Japanese company begins test flights of 'the world's smallest flying car'

“开飞车”将不再是科幻小说中的情节。日本一家初创公司近日对其飞行汽车原型进行了试飞，与之前的无人驾驶遥控试飞不同的是，这次试飞有人驾驶。

A Japanese startup called SkyDrive Inc. has begun conducting test flights of their prototype flying car with a human pilot.

日本一家名为“天空驾驶”的初创公司已开始对其飞行汽车原型进行试飞，试飞时有一名驾驶员在车内。

The company hopes to be able to make a full public demonstration of the vehicle later this summer.

该公司希望能在今年夏天对这款车进行全方位的公开展示。

The test flights are being conducted at a protected indoor facility at the company’s research flight center outside of Nagoya.

试飞是在该公司位于名古屋郊外的飞行研究中心的一个受保护的室内设施中进行的。

There have been a number of previous test flights, but they were all conducted via remote control and no human pilot on-board.

该公司之前已进行过数次试飞，但都是通过遥控进行，无人驾驶。

According to a report in The Asahi Shimbun, SkyDrive says the car could be ready for a limited retail release as early as 2023, and mass production by 2026.

据《朝日新闻》报道，该公司表示，这款车最早将于2023年开始限量出售，2026年开始量产。

SkyDrive was founded by former engineers from Toyota and they intend their vehicle to be ‘the world’s smallest flying car.”

这家公司由日本丰田公司的前工程师创立，公司希望这款汽车成为“世界上最小的飞行汽车”。

In 2017, Toyota gave the company an infusion of around $350,000 to help develop flying vehicles.

2017年，丰田向该公司注资约35万美元（约合人民币241万元），帮助研发飞行车辆。

The company said it won’t say more about how the test flights have been proceeding so far, but says things are going well enough to continue making them.

该公司表示，不会透露更多有关试飞的目前进展，但表示一切顺利，可以继续进行。

While concept renders of the flying car present a glossy and slim cabin with four horizontal drone-style propellers at each corner, the testing vehicle looks more like a go kart.

虽然按照概念描述，飞行汽车有光滑细长的机舱，四个角上还各有一个水平的无人机风格的螺旋桨，但测试车辆看起来更像一辆卡丁车。

The prototype is around five feet tall thanks to the roll bar and a little less than 12 feet long and 12 feet wide.

由于有翻车保护杆，原型机大约5英尺高（约合1.5米），不到12英尺长，12英尺宽。

The company hopes the flying vehicles could help ease traffic congestion, especially in busy megalopolises like Tokyo.

该公司希望这款飞行车辆有助于缓解交通拥堵，特别是在东京等繁忙的大都市。

SkyDrive also believe flying vehicles could be helpful in search and rescue missions, and during emergencies where conventional infrastructure becomes unusable.

该公司还认为，在搜救任务中，以及在常规基础设施无法使用的紧急情况下，飞行交通工具可能会有所帮助。

The company is targeting top speeds of 62mph while in the air and 93mph while closer to the ground.

该公司的目标是最高飞行时速达到62英里（约合99.7公里），接近地面时最高时速93英里。

The company says the vehicle will be able to travel as low as three feet off the ground.

该公司表示，这款车将能够在离地三英尺的超低空行驶。

英文来源：每日邮报

翻译&编辑：yaning