Check Out the 16-Prop, All-Electric 'Multicopter' Make Its First Manned Liftoff!

Could this machine that looks and sounds like a bug be the future of human flight? E-volo, the German company that created this "multicopter", which runs on 100 percent electrical power, thinks so.

According to E-volo's website, the multicopter has 16 propellers in all and can fly on its battery charge for up to a 30 minute flight.

Watch it take off on its first manned mission, which lasted a minute and a half:

The multicopter lifts off like a traditional helicopter and is controlled by a joystick. The website says that the pilot doesn't have to pay as much attention to things that matter in conventional flight such as minimum speed, stall, gas mixture control and pitch control. In the event of an emergency, unlike in a helicopter, the passenger can use a parachute since the propellers are below their feet not above.

The company foresees application of the multicopter mostly in the sport and leisure sector, but also potentially for things like field inspections where helicopters could cause too much disturbance.

[H/T Treehugger]