Honda envisions air taxis, rockets, and moon robots as the future of the company.

• Honda claims that existing flying-shuttle designs that rely entirely on battery power will have extremely limited range.

Honda Motor Co., a car and motorcycle maker, is gearing for a vertical takeoff.

The Tokyo-based firm is focusing on a novel electric-hybrid air taxi, a robot with human-like hands that could one day operate on the moon, and a reusable rocket to transport tiny satellites into orbit at a lower cost.

Honda's long term vision of how people will work, travel, and spend their leisure time will help it extend its operations beyond cars, lawn mowers, and motorcycles. The initiatives are an integral feature of Honda's "2030 Vision," which aims to widen the meaning of mobility and improve people's lives.

The automaker, which also has a modest aviation business, is a relative newcomer to the space industry, which is now dominated by major defense contractors like Boeing Co. and well-funded upstarts like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. The company's seven- or eight-passenger HondaJet has gotten minimal success and accounts for only a small portion of its sales.

Honda has also failed to keep up with the latest technologies in its core automotive sector, teaming with GM to build electric vehicles using GM's next-generation battery-pack technology.

Honda claims that all three sectors of the expansive R&D road map, including propulsion, electrification, robotics, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy, coincide with its capabilities.

On a video meeting with reporters, spokesman Marcos Frommer said, "There is no other firm that possesses all of these core technologies."

Honda Air Taxis:

According to Honda's assessment, current flying-shuttle designs that rely only on battery power will have insufficient range to meet market demand for travel of up to 250 miles (402 kilometers) and not just between large, congested cities.

In 2023, the company hopes to start flight testing on a hybrid design that combines a lithium battery with a gas-turbine generator to function as a charger and expand the range of the aircraft. Honda hopes to have its craft certified by 2030 if management decides to proceed with development.

Honda estimates a market of $269 billion yearly in the 2040s, when electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft evolve to a completely autonomous stage — without a pilot on board. This would cover logistics and emergency medical transport.

According to Frommer, this industry will need to work within a larger ecosystem of eVTOL ports, ground-based autonomous cars, and computers that can seamlessly modify passengers' timetables and flight plans to shuttle people.

Honda Avatar Robots:

Honda Robotics will continue to improve its Asimo humanoid robot, reducing its size while increasing its capabilities.

Avatar robots are expected to be used mostly as a distant surrogate to do duties, such as a paramedic operating the robot to attend to an injured person, which Honda refers to as "4D, transcending time and space." Schoolchildren occupy a fleet of robotic rover avatars on the moon's surface in another scenario from the corporation, touring craters and other geographic features.

To help deliver more delicate and forceful grabbing, these human-controlled avatars will require sophisticated, multifingered hands powered by artificial intelligence, according to Honda. Technology demonstrations for the Avatar Robot would begin in March 2024, with "real use" expected in the 2030s.

Honda Space Rockets:

Given the success of SpaceX's Falcon 9, Honda began work in late 2019 on the engineering requirements for a reusable rocket, the industry's new paradigm. Another development that has stimulated the commercial space industry is Honda's proposal to create a rocket to launch tiny satellites into low-Earth orbit.

As a result, more connected machines — everything from automobiles to appliances to utilities — could emerge, opening up new service and revenue options.

Honda sees financial opportunity in assisting lunar explorers in unlocking the potential of frozen water on the moon. The business is collaborating with Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to develop a lunar renewable energy system. Honda's fuel-cell technology would break down water into its hydrogen and oxygen components, generating energy. According to Honda, the oxygen may be used in living quarters as well as to create hydrogen for rocket fueling.

Honda isn't the only Japanese automaker dreaming of a moon base. Toyota Motor Corporation and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are developing a six-wheeled driverless lunar rover that will land in 2029.

Honda sees robots playing a role on the moon in "minimizing the risks humans will be exposed to and enabling people to virtually enjoy the experience of being on the moon from Earth," according to Honda.