Google X says no to jetpacks, just not practical

Google X, Google’s top-secret lab thought about creating a jetpack, but determined the idea wasn’t practical. The same R&D group that didn’t shy away from trying to build a space elevator felt that such a contraption might not fit in with Google’s eco-friendly projects.

Astro Teller, Google X’s “Captain of Moonshots,” is tasked with overseeing long-term projects that think outside of the box to solve serious world problems. We’ve seen some exciting things like Glass come out of Google X, but sometimes things just don’t work. One of the team’s abandoned ideas was a secure jetpack.

“You can make a jetpack that’s not a death trap, Google X head, Astro Teller told TechCrunch. “The problem isn’t that. The real problem is that it was gonna be so power inefficient, it was gonna get like a fourth of a mile to the gallon. I just couldn’t live with that.”

 Aside from the safe jetpack being being a gas guzzler, Teller said it would’ve been as loud as a motorcycle. Just try to imagine that going over your house at all hours of the night.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS4hAWsLZFQ?feature=player_detailpage]