The quadcopter drone acts as a proof of concept for the full-sized manned vehicle, with proceeds from the crowdfunding effort intended to fuel the continued development of the final vehicle. Gizmag visited the Malloy Aeronautics workshop in the UK to take a closer look at the Hoverbike project.

With more than a week remaining before the Kickstarter campaign concludes, its funding goal has been exceeded and development is moving forward at pace. Though the manned Hoverbike is what tends to garner the most attention, the one third scale drones are actually the focus of the Kickstarter effort.

The quadcopter drone can be accompanied by an anthropomorphic, 3D-printed figure known as Cyborg Buster, which features a space to fit a GoPro camera in its head. The drone is capable of following the pilot, following a predetermined flight path, and even has the ability to perform automatic take-off and landing maneuvers.