Hovercrafts have been experimented upon from a long time. It is their amphibian qualities that make hovercrafts the chosen mode of transport if the issue is about mobility and transportation in various inaccessible areas. Ironically though, this very advantage pulls the hovercraft down as its quality of being fully detached from the ground, comes at the cost of reduced and difficult maneuverability. However, bionics combined with pneumatics can produce awesome results. The students of The Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences have developed a model of steering and stopping functions which is facilitated through the air thrust generated by the propulsion system into two channels. The channels have a pair of flaps each that behave like the thrust reversing system of a turbo-drive and hence facilitates easy maneuverability. The project’s performance can be exploited to capitalize and hint at mass production. In this age of overcrowding and traffic congestions efficient models of Hovercrafts such as this can be utilized to provide an alternative means of transport.
Via: Festo
