Honda's Future Plans: Avatar Robot, eVTOL and Space Technology
Honda makes far more than cars and trucks: energy equipment, solar panels, industrial robotics, alternative-fuel engines and even aircraft are all part of the company's production capacity.
On September 30, 2021, Honda announced that it is working to further expand its production portfolio by adding Avatar-style telepresence robots and a vertical takeoff and landing electric aircraft (eVTOL) for intercity and intracity travel. The company also has ambitions to create a fuel cell power system for the lunar surface.
eVTOL
For its eVTOL, Honda plans to use not only lithium battery technology developed for EVs and PHEVs, but also a hybrid gas turbine powertrain to give the future aircraft enough range for regional intercity flights. The company believes air taxis will become an integral part of future transportation infrastructure, integrating easily with both autonomous ground vehicles and traditional airliners (although robots may soon be operating them too).
“According to our market research, the greatest demand for mobility from eVTOL aircraft arises over long distances, such as intercity trips of up to 400 km. Partly due to the electrification of our cars, Honda is working on research and development of lithium-ion batteries. However, the development of current lithium-ion batteries is expected to increase energy per unit of capacity only about several-fold over the next 20 years. Therefore, we believe that for sky mobility, which requires further weight reduction, it is difficult to achieve long distances using batteries alone”
The program is still at an early research stage and will likely remain so until at least the second half of this decade. Honda expects prototypes to be available for testing and certification by the 2030s, with full commercial deployment around 2040.
“Using a model-based systems engineering approach, Honda will tackle the challenge of transforming from a conventional manufacturing company into a new company that also develops and commercializes systems and services. We can deliver new value to our customers only when we complete one large system made up of various elements, including booking system infrastructure, air traffic management, flight operations and existing mobility products such as cars. Honda cannot handle all these elements alone, so we will need to cooperate with many companies and government agencies”
The company will have many competitors if it actually develops its eVTOLs. In early 2021, Cadillac demonstrated its single-seat air car, and Joby (in partnership with NASA) already has full prototypes. In June, Slovak transport startup Klein Vision flew from Nitra to Bratislava Airport on its first intercity flight, then drove home after the event. However, building a fleet of flying taxis is a difficult task. Most likely, the world will see many companies exit this sector before eVTOLs become commonplace.
Avatar Robot
Honda representatives also talked about the company's future ambitions in robotics. Honda envisions a future in which people are not limited by space and time, where telepresence robots will have visual and tactile acuity on par with humans. Instead of boarding a plane to inspect remote production workshops or to be physically present at a product demonstration, tomorrow's workers will simply put on virtual reality headsets and enter the body of a humanoid robot.
The company said: "The core of such an avatar robot will be a multi-jointed robotic hand, developed using Honda's strengths in robotics technology and an original remote control function supported by artificial intelligence. Therefore, Honda sought to create an avatar robot that could use its many-fingered hand to fully apply tools designed for human use, quickly and precisely perform complex tasks based on AI support, and more intuitive control by the user."
The company announced that it wants its avatar robot to be put into practical use in the 2030s. Demonstration trials of the technology will take place by the end of the first quarter of 2024 to achieve this goal. Before that happens, Honda must work on reducing the size of the robot's hand equipment and improving its dexterity.
Space Technology
The company also has big plans for its space business, including work on ways to adapt existing fuel cells and high-differential-pressure water electrolysis technologies to operate on the lunar surface as part of a circulating renewable energy system.
This system will use electricity obtained from renewable sources (for example, solar) to break the molecular bonds of liquid water, producing hydrogen and oxygen. These two elements will then be fed into Honda's fuel cell to generate electricity and supply the lunar habitat with oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel.
The company hopes to use the more maneuverable avatar arms it has developed as manipulators on a fleet of remotely controlled lunar rovers, which will perform tasks on the lunar surface rather than exposing astronauts to numerous lunar hazards. Honda became a partner of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and in June 2021 began joint research on both of these systems.
The automaker also plans to use its core fluid and combustion, guidance and control technologies to build reusable rockets.
“If we can use such rockets to launch small low-orbit satellites, we can expect our core technologies to develop in various services, including related services. All such services will be compatible with Honda technologies”
At the end of 2019, the company gave the green light to its young engineers dreaming of building a rocket to begin research and development. Honda has not provided any details on any of its space initiatives.
