DAILY NATION. MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2017. 15

FOCUS
APIC
invitation
The Association
for Promotionof International
Cooperation (APIC) andthe Foreign Press Centreof Japan have cometogether once again togive regional journalists
insight into how thecountry goes about
mitigating the effects
of natural disasters.
Japan, a country
known in recent times
for earthquakes andtsunamis, has spenthundreds of millionsof dollars on special
technology andbuilding methods toprotect its citizenry.
This year, APIC
has invited six
journalists from theCaribbean and Pacificregion to geta first-hand lookat those methods.
Associate Editor
Barry Alleyne isthere representing
THE NATION.

FOMM’S Development
Division’s vice generalmanager Mitsuaki
Hirakawa beside the 1.0
electrical vehicle, which
can float in the event
there is flooding.
(Picture by Wakaphotos)

Floating on wheels
by BARRY ALLEYNE
in Kyoto, Japan

THIS IS THE EPITOME of floating an idea around
until it works.

The FOMM Corporation in Kawasaki-shi, a techsavvy company in Japan, has come up with a brilliant
idea they are hoping catches on in the flood-prone
country of Thailand.
FOMM has designed the world’s first mass-produced
compact electric floating vehicle.
Thought you didn’t hear correctly? You did.
That’s right. This car floats, and though it moves
at the same speed as a human walking when wading
through water, officials of FOMM are hoping to
manufacture 4 000 units for its first delivery toThailand next year.
Four-seater vehicles the size of the FOMM 1.0 are
still illegal in Japan in spite of intense lobbying from
FOMM founder Hideo Tsurumaki, so the company has
approached the Thai government after completing acountrywide survey there to determine the viabilityof their product.
The small lightweight car is made from a special
plastic, and without its electric battery, weighs just over
44 kilogrammes, making it quite unsuitable for drivingon the highway, but perfect for Thailand’s small roads,

which can become an ocean during the annual
monsoon season.
“We wanted to create a car that could run onland, and also float on water efficiently,” FOMM’s
Development Division’s vice-general manager Mitsuaki
Hirakawa told six journalists from the Caribbeanand Pacific countries, who are in Japan for a special
programme organised jointly by the Association for
Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC) andthe Foreign Press Centre Japan.
“We are always dreaming to create a car the world
would want. Our technology should excite as we
contribute to the global environment,” Hirakawa added.

Energy-efficient vehicles
The FOMM 1.0 will cost buyers a little over
BDS$20 000, and will be one of the most cost andenergy-efficient electric vehicles on the planet, when
production is completed next September.
Its maximum power is 10 kilowatts, but the little
dynamo is scarishly quiet, and has a top speed of
80 kilometres per hour.
But where it stands out, or maybe where it sitsout, is when the rains come.
As soon as the vehicle senses it is in water, thetwo special motors attached to the front-wheel-drive

mechanism engage, forcing water underneath the bodyof the car and pushing it through the water, though at aslow speed.
The aim is for residents in flood-prone areas still tobe able to move around if and when torrential rainscome. In Thailand, it takes less than one hour for 50
millimetres of rain to turn streets into a canalof raging water.
With FOMM 1.0, officials expect there to be no panic,
since the vehicle’s lone battery is sealed in a waterproof
canister, and driver or passengers are protected fromthe elements by the car’s special plastic frame.
Since working with the Thai government, FOMM
has changed numerous parts to come up with 1.0,
redesigning sliding doors, changing where theacceleration paddles on the steering wheel arepositioned, and even improving space in the backof the four-seater.
Officials were mum on the operating cost of making
each unit, but noted should the vehicle take off in
Thailand, they were hoping to expand to other areas in
Asia in which laws allow that size compact electric car.
It takes just six hours to fully charge the battery
from a household 220-volt unit, and a full battery cantake a driver 167 kilometres if the air conditioner isn’tused. To keep cool, drivers get around 100 kilometresfrom a fully charged battery.