while many people are stuck at home lisa has landed the only seat in the cinema with an exceptional view. you're up to date now on day w. news i'll be back at the top of the hour with another news bulletins for you by marian everything from me and the entire news team in berlin thanks for watching. in the light of climate change. africa. what's in store. for the future. for the major cities to get insight. into. how the virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll. just 3 of the topics covered and the weekly radio show is called

spectrum if you would like any information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. science. the days were flying cars were a distant dream long gone today companies worldwide designing them so when will we be ready for takeoff a topic today on shift. whether it's boeing will start ups like the in germany develop those across the globe want those to take off in electrically powered flying vehicles many cities are choked with traffic in the sky still plenty of room. and also the prototypes are supposed

to be less harmful to the environment so when will fly and claim the skies and when they really improve our lives here's what experts have to say. it's hard to predict cars will go mainstream. or the necessary infrastructure as well as a social acceptance. but i do believe that flying cars will eventually transform our lives you know. in cities like new york. shanghai beijing and other places where space is scarce the globally leads people with money want to be able to move around quickly that creates demand this will probably just be a solution for the mobility problems of a very small percentage of society i'm ability elite fancy speeds those for the

super rich that's not what i had in mind in japan planning for the rich by 2023 japanese megacities want to have commercial sky taxis that's why the government investing in businesses like sky drive in aug 2020 the start of announce its 1st manned test flight my colleague cassandra ball got an exclusive glimpse of what happens inside the secret research center. this is japan's 1st flying car i definitely need to see this and of course fly in it too when i think of flying cars i think of back to the future. the robinsons and my childhood car to the jetsons are side by magination is now becoming reality. my team and i began our journey research center. from tokyo before

embarking on this trip we had to sign confidentiality agreement why the secrecy in strictness because the technological details and detesting location are top secret i'm allowed to say this much though we're about 300 kilometers southwest of the capital in the middle of the mountains what a thrill right now i'm standing in front of the are in the center of sky drive and the location is top secret kind of makes me feel like i'm in a james bond movie. or. something. because the air mobility start up was founded in 2012 and is backed up by toyota and behind these doors it's where the magic happens and here is where it's parked skydives prototype with 8 little rotors to be the place doesn't immediately screen high tech sadly i'm not allowed to test it without a pilot's license well at least i got to sit in it and it was awesome just time

travels into the future well not literally but they could've used like it. some experts say flying cars will reduce traffic jams in urban areas lower pollution and save travel time. as one of about 80 companies worldwide there are currently working on so-called even. electric vertical takeoff and landing these flying cars run on batteries and they can land and take off from the tiniest bases trouble already exists but it's still very convenient our goal is to create a compact and quiet find a vehicle so that people can fly every day little bit. currently the prototypes flight time is limited to 3 to 5 minutes this is supposed to change soon though the developers are hoping that in only 2 years time their flying cars will be used as

air taxis into or ism or for emergency medical services but there are still a number of technical obstacles left to overcome. this will provide greater safety but when you increase the number of motors you have to build a bigger heavier so the goal is to figure out the right number of motors in order to assure safety but at the same time keep the aircraft as compact as possible yes . it's a fine balance test pilot toshio on though tells me that for this year the next milestone for the project is already in the works launching the 2 seater to fire across tokyo bay and one of these i can't even begin to imagine oh this has been quite a journey i learned a lot about flying cars and i even got to sit a warrant but let's be clear the ultimate goal for these vehicles is autonomy and

until that happens there are a number of technical obstacles that we have to overcall and even more importantly these projects. depend heavily on public acceptance if you'd like to see what else because sandra bullock has been up to check out you tube channel sky drive model is made for air travel but hybrids goes step further traveling in the air and on roads sounds great there's just one she was off the goal for many of these ideas you need a runway the dutch company pelvic is coming close their vehicle has already been approved for roll to traffic at a top speed of 160 kilometers an hour it could turn some heads when it's propellers unfolded the pelvic turns into a gyrocopter but along with a driver's license and a pilot's license you'll need 300000 euros in the bank. most flying car models make for road traffic but work like helicopters drones they're called even the

stands for electric and vital means vertical takeoff and landing and they're quite spectacular check this out. is this the mobility of the future these prototypes are electrically powered aircraft that can hover take off and land vertically they're called multi copters or evie tools so which company will bring the 1st model to market global players like airbus and boeing have already joined the race as have startups like volvo copter from germany . to digital. technology is really very simple which allows you to build a vehicle that can run with muscle. cars or others just for the fact that they're really quiet emission free time. but so far

none of these sky taxis can fly longer than about 20 minutes. for safety reasons though they need to be able to remain airborne 30 minutes longer than their longest trip. current battery technology just isn't up to that. bad weather is another obstacle e.-v. tolls can't fly in strong wind or heavy rain still there developers believe these flying vehicles will revolutionize mobility and sooner than we might think. governments will also have to give them the green light germany's transport ministry seems open to the idea quite interesting and see the sky taxis become a reality here in germany in 2017 we passed new regulations governing the use of drones and unmanned aircraft the next step will be to institute regulations specifically tailored to sky taxis for the most part this will happen on the

european level. so how exactly will this work perhaps sky taxis will fly set routes and use clearly defined landing spots on skyscrapers for example to handle both manned and unmanned aircraft air traffic control systems will also need to revamp so none of this will happen overnight. that still leaves a lot of open questions like the short flight time of just 20 minutes and even those sky taxis won't need paved roads they will need the right infrastructure so when they exactly will fly in vehicles take to the skies aerospace experts define even that believes it will take at least 15 years but who will be flying them leave a dock but they'll be professional pilots very highly skilled and certified. they won't allow the passengers or people on the ground to be exposed to a higher risk than with an ordinary helicopter. where their fathers what is space

infrastructure will be needed. how exactly is going to work is to let them hear things like whether we'll need an external agency that will set the flight routes for example or if that's something that companies because it more or less themselves it's all dependent on the factors like traffic density and the infrastructure and data connections available to us and how realistic is autonomy is flying at this point in time you think of it in the regulations for transporting parcels already quite rigorous you depended on the size. what their craft there will be a lot of rules for instance unify terminations system to ensure an aircraft with technical problems doesn't crash into residential areas so we're still in the lay off from the human passengers aboard. most developers aiming for autonomy sky taxis even if they're still a long way to go no pilot also saves money and space at this year's c.e.'s general

motors gave us a preview this video by g.m. is still a simulation but the u.s. car maker hopes its cadillac e.-v. toll will soon become a reality the electric and autonomous flying car is designed for short commutes in urban areas. this model has room for a single passenger but general motors is also developing a 2 seater for the 1st and last mile passengers can switch to an autonomous road cadillac. a year earlier at c.s. south korean car manufacturer presented a similar vision of the future. taxi that takes off and lands vertically after a test phase with a pilot this flying taxi with room for 5 passengers would eventually be autonomous at passengers could switch to a car or transfer to another sky taxi flying taxis clouding the skies whether it's

transport drones or sky taxis it's clear that we need to think about what the future will bring a recent survey in germany found just 18 percent of the population could imagine commuting with flying taxis just over 50 percent would be willing to use sky taxis in emergencies for myself i'd be keen to test a prototype so what's your take could you imagine taking a sky takes you to work where do you think it's not safe. on you tube facebook or the w dot com that's all for today. they care and. in

good shape there are pissed animals provide valuable support during crises it's something they've talked to like a cat and his dog slow already the dogs can be really heroes and life savings what you say about that show. what could anyone else to what doctors and nurses can't. even good. passengers here are informed by. the drivers here need nerves of steel. while passengers here can get an eyeful along the way. taxis accommodate passengers all over the world. dr thomas ceiling. read. 60.

i'm not proud of them they will not succeed in dividing us about not succeed in taking the people off the streets because we're tired of this dictatorship. taking the stand global news that matters d w made from minds. what do dogs. go. horses and many other animals have in common. well they may be cute or provide us with milk. or help carry us around. but some animals can do much more. there could.