The Iranian Inventor Behind Floating Shoes, Now Redefining Flight: Mohsen Bahmani's Propeller-less Propulsion System

From Floating Shoes to Flying Taxis

Imagine walking on water. That was the dream of Mohsen Bahmani when, at just 17, he invented floating (hover-craft-like) shoes — a creation that captured attention, won competitions, and made him millions. But what if that was just warming up? Today, Bahmani is chasing a far grander dream: revolutionizing how machines lift off and fly in urban skies — without propellers or jets.

Who is Mohsen Bahmani

• Mechanical engineer, Iranian-born; education includes Karaj Azad University (Tehran), then further studies in Europe. (newsbase.com)

• Inventive from his teens; first major invention: shoes that allow walking on water, based on hovercraft principles. Exhibited internationally; sold rights to a European company for several million euros. (newsbase.com)

• Later continued work in Germany; during his time at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology he developed a prototype of what he now calls a reaction propulsion system. (newsbase.com)

  
  

What Is This Propeller-less / Reaction Propulsion System?

Bahmani’s invention breaks away from conventional approaches like propellers, fans, or jets. Some of the key ideas:

• Principle: Newton’s third law — every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That is, instead of pushing against air (as propellers do) or expelling gas (as jets do), this system moves internal “blocks” around a looped track, and the shifting, curved motion creates centrifugal/reaction forces that can produce lift. (newsbase.com)

• Mechanism: The design involves many small drives (blocks, ~200 g each) that move around a closed path (track). As these blocks move up a vertical curve, are accelerated, then curve and fall, they transfer force to the track via centrifugal force. With enough synchronized blocks at various points, the net force can lift the track (and whatever it is attached to) upward. (newsbase.com)

• Efficiency & Noise: Claimed energy efficiency is about 50%, roughly twice as good as many propeller/jet systems, because there is less wasted energy in moving air. Also, without fast-moving air or open rotors, the system promises to be much quieter. (newsbase.com)

  
  

Why This Could Be a Game-Changer for Flying Taxis & Urban Air Mobility

Flying taxis and drones for city transport are being developed worldwide, but several barriers persist:

1. Noise pollution: Propellers and jets are loud. For urban use, that’s a huge problem. Quiet systems are essential. Bahmani’s design could drastically reduce the acoustic footprint. (newsbase.com)

2. Safety: Open rotors or exposed blades are risky. A closed-loop internal mechanism may reduce hazard risks to bystanders, wildlife, etc.

3. Efficiency / Energy Use: Urban flights tend to be short, frequent, and constrained by battery / fuel limits. If one can get more lift per watt (or per battery charge) by avoiding inefficiencies of pushing air, that could increase flight time or reduce required energy.

4. Scalability & Modularity: The blocks are relatively small and modular. Multiple units could be combined; different orientations of the loop track could give directional control (up, forward, lateral). This could allow maneuverability, VTOL (vertical takeoff/landing), and finer control in congested airspace.

What Has Bahmani Achieved?

Where Are We Now?

• He built a prototype (drones) using this system; patent was granted at least in Europe (2023). (newsbase.com)

• He teamed up with luxury car/flying car concept firm Mansory to design a radical flying car concept (“Empower”), though commercial product remains far off. (newsbase.com)

• He is seeking investment and grants (EU etc.) to scale up, move from drone-scale to full-sized flying taxi applications. (newsbase.com)

Challenges, Open Questions, and Skepticism: What Might Stand in the Way

As exciting as this sounds, there are practical, technical, regulatory, and commercial hurdles to clear:

• Power to Weight Ratio: Can the system lift heavy payloads (passengers + structure + safety systems + battery/fuel) efficiently? The drones can do small scale now, but scaling tends to bring exponential increases in weight and complexity.

• Reliability & Wear: Moving blocks along looped tracks that endure high accelerations, curvatures, and forces—mechanical stresses will be high. Maintenance, durability, friction losses, heat dissipation etc. will matter.

• Control & Stability: Flight implies not just vertical lift but stabilization in roll, pitch, yaw; responding to wind, gusts, turbulence. The orientation of the loops, synchronization, control electronics/actuators will be complex.

• Regulation & Certification: Flying vehicles, especially near cities / people, are highly regulated. Certification for safety, airworthiness, redundancy, fail-safe modes, crash safety.

• Cost: Even if energy efficiency is better, development costs, materials, manufacturing, and system complexity may push cost high initially.

• Market adoption: Infrastructure (vertiports, charging, maintenance), public acceptance (safety, noise, visual intrusion) will affect adoption.

  
  

Wider Context: Why the World Needs This Innovation

• Urban mobility crisis: Traffic congestion, pollution, time lost. Flying taxis and drones promise to relieve ground traffic and reduce journey times.

• Low-altitude economy: The emerging sector of “last mile” delivery, aerial taxis, airborne logistics (medical, disaster relief) is expected to grow hugely. Innovations that reduce noise, increase safety, improve energy use, will help unlock this potential. Bahmani’s system might align well with those needs. (newsbase.com)

• Sustainability pressure: Fuel emissions, noise, environmental impact are under scrutiny. Propeller motors / turbine engines are energy-hungry; the less you waste moving air, the better.

• Technological convergence: Advances in batteries / electric motors / lightweight materials / control systems make ideas like this more feasible than 10-20 years ago.

  
  

What’s Next? What To Watch

• Whether Bahmani can build a full-scale flying taxi using this propulsion system, not just small drones.

• Real flight tests (videos, peer-reviewed data) showing lift, stability, efficiency, noise in real conditions (wind, rain, obstacles).

• Comparison with competing technologies: eVTOLs using propellers / ducted fans / tilt-rotors etc. How does the reaction propulsion system stack up in cost, weight, operational range, battery consumption, safety?

• Partnerships, regulatory approvals, pilot zones (which cities will be first?), investment rounds.

• Potential spin-offs: even if flying taxis are far off, such a system may find use in quieter drones, indoor UAVs, perhaps even elevators or other vertical transportation systems.

Mohsen Bahmani’s story is one of imagination, perseverance, and pushing the boundaries of what we take for granted: flight, propulsion, what movement can look like. From floating shoes to a system that seeks to fly without propellers, it’s a reminder that innovation often comes from rethinking fundamentals.

If this reaction-propulsion idea can be scaled, made safe, reliable and cost-effective, it could mark a turning point in the story of urban air mobility — quieter skies, cleaner lift, more graceful flight. But for now, it remains a high-stakes promise, one that the world will be watching.

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