AirShip Technologies Group

Full Size Links:  AirShip Vehicle Specification   

              Delorean ATG Vehicle Specification

As detailed in the Electric Car History and Links, production and conversion battery electric vehicles typically achieve 0.3 to 0.5 kWh per mile (0.2 to 0.3 kWh/km).  The U.S. fleet average of 23 mpg of gasoline is equivalent to 1.46 kWh/mi and the 70 mpg Insight gets 0.48 kWh/mi (assuming 33.6 kWh per U.S. gallon of gasoline), so battery electric cars vehicles are relatively efficient.  When comparisons are made for the total energy cycle, the efficiency figures for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) drop, but such calculations are not commonly offered for internal combustion engines (ICE) e.g. the loss of efficiency from energy used to produce specialized fuels such as gasoline as compared to the raw energy available from crude oil or natural gas.

Vehicle specifications for the AirShip electric vehicle is designed for operation in all four seasons and its integrated Track Sphere electric wheel assembly provides for the same physical road surface footprint of a regular automobile tire.   It will operate on typical road surfaces, but is not designed for off-road travel.  The vehicle’s target maximum speed is 125 miles per hour.  Target vehicle MPG or (Equivalent MPG) is 100+ miles per gallon and a 400 mile range

Track Spheres were developed to allow for a 360-degree movement of the vehicle which is propelled via drive-by-wire instructions.  The drive mechanism is the application of electric motors at each of the Track Spheres.  As such, they represent an innovation in ground transportation that will allow for a vehicle to pull up to a parallel parking spot and move lateral to park.  It truly is a re-invention of the wheel which AirShipTG has applied for a U.S. Patent.  For wide vehicles such as the AirShip, it will prove useful for maneuverability in tight ground traffic and parking.

Track Sphere Hubs surround each track sphere and serve to keep debris from contacting the track sphere assemblies.  As such, the hubs contain brushes to clean the sphere and serve as an active self-cleaning mechanism.  These are attachments to the body of the vehicle and consist of a flexible external cover and low seated brushes at the bottom of the hub.  At travel, the vehicle appears to float down the street or highway without the viewer seeing the track sphere motion.

Maximum hardness of the Track Sphere has yet to be determined, but the Track Sphere manual construction  will  give  way  to  an  automated  approach  for  future production models.  And, the steering mechanism will be a type of Rack and Pinion that is designed for the front Track Sphere only. 

The AirShip’s roots stem from the original design as a hovercraft dating to our first 1993 designs and later presented at the Portland International Conference on Management and Engineering (PICMET ’99).  The original front to rear track configuration has been preserved to eventually adapt the vehicle for multiple uses.

                      1993 AirShip Hovercraft Roots

                             AirShip Vehicle Specification