We probably have drones to thank. They've helped the price of flying vehicles plummet from the days of gasoline-powered helicopters, but what about water? Or racing on land? For those, you might want to consider Takara Tomy's newest radio-controlled vehicle, the Earth Rider RC (or the 陸海空RC, "Land Sea Air RC").
At the Tokyo Toy show, we got to see it fly down roughly six feet to neatly land on the water, where its tires keep the car afloat -- and those important electronics out of harm. The same propellers that can put it into the air can then glide the RC across the water, like like a pond skater, except for, well, the propellers, wheels and things...
You've probably heard of vehicles that transition between areas before, but the appeal here is how it transfers to the air (or water) without any transformation or mode change. It appears that the wheels aren't powered, but that the force from the quad-copter blades compels it to move it somehow like a car.
Also, as it's a mere 50 grams, the toy company says it will move/fly/float for around five minutes after a 30-minute charge, while the controller itself runs on six AA batteries. This all-in-one RC launches in Japan this October for around $91 (9,250 yen), but there's no news on whether it'll make it across to the US -- whether it can roll on water or not.
Source: Engadget
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