What if someone told you that it was possible to travel from Kolkata to Chennai in 3 hours for just Rs 600? It's natural to wave off the idea as unrealistic. But with innovations taking place every day, cheaper travel options might not be just a far-fetched thought. The start-up company Waterfly Technologies, backed by the incubation cell of IIT Madras, is planning to introduce one such fascinating mode of transport aka electric-operated sea gliders. Powered by Wing-in-Ground (WIG) crafts, these vessels will be designed in such a way that they can skim the water's surface and soar up to four meters. The announcement has even caught the attention of Anand Mahindra.
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Sharing the exciting news on X (formerly Twitter), Anand Mahindra wrote, “IIT Madras promises to rival Silicon Valley in terms of nurturing startups. Almost every week there's news of a new ‘TechVenture'. What I like about this one is not just the promise of exploitation of our vast waterways, but the fact that the design of the craft is stunning! Design Rules!”
The post has garnered a lot of attention on social media.
Highlighting the issues of common transportation, a user commented, “India is in dire need of a third means of transportation. And the masses would surely love it, as the congestion on roads and high fares of flights will make people opt for waterways.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, another chimed in, “No roads are as per international standards. Even though we are far behind many Asian countries in road and traffic.”
“We should seriously work on waterways alternative to Road and Rail,” suggested a person.
Posing a list of questions, an individual wanted to know, “Indeed great. How about safety? Is it economically viable, considering 600 per person? What will be the crew size to make breakeven?”
Here's what a person had to say: “Do you not think that first we should develop a water transport system since we have access to sea and river? It will be more beneficial to people and cheaper. Flying objects are good but may not see the light of the day as controlling traffic in the air is extremely difficult and a lot of systems.”
Keshav Choudhary, co-founder of Waterfly Technologies, discussed how the company planned to operate the sea gliders.
In an interaction with The New Indian Express, he said, “We fly very close to the water surface and take advantage of a physical phenomenon called ground effect. This reduces the induced drag, as the wing tip vertices (of the glider) get obstructed by the surface.”
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Are you excited to travel the tech-savvy way? Let us know in the comments below!
