I really don't get some people's obsession with jetpacks. Is it just because they look cool?
To move from point A to point B quickly without having to face traffic jam, for example.
And obviously, being able to fly is super cool.
The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
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Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#22If there were a perfectly reliable, super easy to use jetpack: you would not be allowed to use it. Even if the technology were there, so are powerlines, helicopters, and other jetpack users. Besides that, there are billions of dollars of security fences around government and other installations like power plants. I doubt they would let that be basically nullified, and would fight tooth and nail to prevent the sale of…
Except for safety issues, all those issues exist with drones, and you're still allowed to fly drones. More likely is that certain areas would be blocked / limited.
It is fundementally different to have a camera above a military base and a person infiltrating it. Nobody dies when your drone hits a power line either.
Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#23I really don't get some people's obsession with jetpacks. Is it just because they look cool?
what is it that jetpacks allow you to do?
The biggest utility I can see would be some already proposed with prototypes. I.e. military boarding a boat, and high angle search and rescue. We've seen tech demos for both. I have no expertise in mountain climbing or EMS, so I can't speak for how far off we are from that being practical or useful.
For things like boat boardings, it seems like it could (eventually) be the best solution to an awful situation. If bad guys with guns are on a boat and you need to get on said boat (whether to repossess the boat, or save people on the boat) boarding it is a tactical nightmare. Your options are basically:
1. Ride a small boat up to it, hope they don't see you, and climb into bad guy boat. If the bad guys did see you and start shooting you, hopefully your friends from another boat or helicopter can shoot them first.
2. Fly a noisy helicopter above said bad guy boat and fast rope down, hoping they don't shoot you or the helicopter before you get into a fighting position
3. I dont know, maybe parachute onto it? Options 1 and 2 are outside of, but adjacent to, my expertise. This is a whole other level. The military has proposed, tried, and done crazier things though.
Option 4, Jetpacks, would be nice. To be able to go from good guy boat to bad guy boat within like, 30 seconds, is still a rough approach but probably the least awful.
Fortunately, for society (unfortunately for the Jetpack industry) maritime hostage rescue is a pretty small market surface
Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#24If there were a perfectly reliable, super easy to use jetpack: you would not be allowed to use it. Even if the technology were there, so are powerlines, helicopters, and other jetpack users. Besides that, there are billions of dollars of security fences around government and other installations like power plants. I doubt they would let that be basically nullified, and would fight tooth and nail to prevent the sale of…
Less likely to prevent sale than just require adherence to FAA flight rules as already required for any other flying object, like drones. FAA both has all kinds of flight restrictions around many types of facilities, puts out all kinds of NOTAMs (Notice To Arimen) for temporary flight restrictions, and nearly anyone flying anything is required to check and follow these for every flight. Additionally, commercial drones have geofencing so they won't even fly within restricted areas.
If you fly your drone over restricted mil bases, you can expect a lot of enforcement to show up really fast, including weapons aimed at your drone. They'd have no problem enforcing the same kind of rules for a person flying over an area where deadly force is authorized for trespassers than they would for a trespasser on foot or vehicle, and you'd be a much easier target, and much larger audible signature.
I wouldn't worry that this concern will kill the industry.
Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jetpacks are unsafe when users can manipulate them and potentially crash them, or ignore safety warnings etc.. It's a lot safer if they are flown by AI. Possibly only reverting to manual control in an emergency and then only for a controlled AI assisted landing. For example. That could prevent the scenario where terrorist with TNT strapped to his belt flies into a buildng. On the other hand: People could still muck w…
> > It's a lot safer if they are flown by AI It would completely defy its purpose . It looks like Level 4/5 automation will never be achieved for cars , the good thing about that is not having to deal with the psychological problems that come with it. Cars, bikes, motorbikes, boats,jetskis….and jetpacks. People love them because it makes them feel in control as they are the ones at the wheel
Never? That's such a defeatist/pessimistic take. Looks like its way more difficult than expected, sure. Looks like new breakthroughs will be needed maybe.
Never seems unreasonable, in general and in specific.
Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
> > It's a lot safer if they are flown by AI It would completely defy its purpose . It looks like Level 4/5 automation will never be achieved for cars , the good thing about that is not having to deal with the psychological problems that come with it. Cars, bikes, motorbikes, boats,jetskis….and jetpacks. People love them because it makes them feel in control as they are the ones at the wheel
Never? That's such a defeatist/pessimistic take. Looks like its way more difficult than expected, sure. Looks like new breakthroughs will be needed maybe. Never seems unreasonable, in general and in specific.
People will never stop loving driving
Re: The race to create working, practical personal jetpacks
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Never? That's such a defeatist/pessimistic take. Looks like its way more difficult than expected, sure. Looks like new breakthroughs will be needed maybe. Never seems unreasonable, in general and in specific.
People will never stop loving driving
People said the same thing about their horse.