China is Testing Floating Cars
China is utilizing maglev technology to test out floating cars for the country’s highways.
Written by Alexandra Maloney
Reviewed by Lisa Steuer McArdle
Car technology
has been advancing rapidly over the past few years. From self-driving features to completely driverless delivery vehicles and more, there’s no shortage of incredible technological advancements in the automotive world. On top of all this, the latest and greatest in the world of car technology is China’s test runs of floating cars.
Jerry
, the trustworthy insurance comparison app
, looks at the possibility of a future with flying cars.China’s floating cars
China is currently testing out floating cars by using magnetic levitation, or maglev, technology. In the case of floating cars,
Interesting Engineering
reports that China used maglev technology to successfully float a 2.8 tonne car 35 millimeters off the road. The car ran successfully on a highway, without crashing into anything or veering outside of its lane. After the initial test, a second test run was performed. In the second test, the maglev cars achieved speeds of 124 mph. In total, eight vehicles with maglev technology were tested on a section of the highway that stretched for about five miles. Maximum speeds of floating cars were seen to be over 140 mph.
According to
Motor1
, China’s goal with its floating cars is to study road design and safety measures for high speed driving. If all goes well with floating car testing, China might even create a dedicated highway lane solely for maglev cars, but highways that support the technology would need to be implemented. Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
More on floating car technology
According to
CNBC
, Maglev involves electrifying a magnetic field to push and pull vehicles at high speeds. Essentially, the opposing magnetic forces repel each other so the thing on top, like a train or car, can move. The unique technology has been used on trains since the 1980s, and today China, Japan, and South Korea all use maglev to power their trains. In fact, the technology powers the bullet train that can reach speeds up to 373 mph in Qingdao, China.
The maglev technology and floating car tests are being developed by researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University. Dr. Zigang Deng, the lead researcher, stated the next step in the process was focusing on the actual development of a vehicle compatible with maglev technology.
China isn’t the only country testing floating cars
The United States is also working on floating car technology, but instead of maglev, developers are using electric engines.
Fox 2
reports that at the Detroit’s North American International Auto Show this year, a new flying car technology called AIR was unveiled. AIR’s first car, Air One, is a vehicle that takes off and lands with the help of eight motors. It can stay in the air for up to one hour, and reaches speeds of 155 mph. Since it’s electrically powered it needs to be charged, but it has a range up to 100 miles.
According to the company’s CEO, Rani Plaut, the car isn’t a plane or a helicopter, but it’s designed
exclusively for the sky
and not the roads. The Air One is available for purchase, at about $150,000, with about 200 sold, proving flying cars
aren’t as far into the future as you might’ve thought. 
4.7
