A university in Florida has unveiled a flying electric car, which they claim is the first of its kind in the United States. The aircraft , named Astro, are intended to help campus police at Florida Polytechnic University (FPU) access emergencies quicker, as well as give students hands-on experience with the rapidly emerging technology. The university claims that its police department is the first in the U.S. to use this type of aircraft, which cost US$150,000, according to ABC Tampa Bay 28. “When I first started, we were still writing reports,” FPU police chief Aaron Murray told the outlet. “They were just implementing computers so we were happy that we got to type reports instead of writing reports but, as you know, technology, when it becomes available, it rapidly progresses.” He added the vehicles, which look like a cross between a golf cart, a motorcycle and a compact helicopter, could have a huge impact when searching for missing people on campus, or if a plane crashes, when every second matters. Astro is only equipped to fly one person at a time, and will be able to get first responders to scenes that may be tricky to access. Dr. Matt Bohm, chair of FPU’s Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering Department, said students are given hands-on experience working on virtual models of the vehicles, and are using real-world flight data to help improve it. “We have mechanical engineering students that want to figure out what the stresses and strains are in those carbon fiber members, which are lightweight already, but if we can make those 50 per cent lighter or 20 per cent lighter, that’s extra flight time,” he said. The university still has to obtain approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in order to use Astro for police operations, and said that it should be ready for safety operations by the end of the year.
