The jetpack is the brainchild of Hollywood animatronics expert Matt Denton and Royal Navy Commander Antony Quinn and uses a unique Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) system designed to be operated hands-free, allowing people to make safer flights, and precision landings on structures that are difficult to access.

The Maverick Jetpack [1] can be reconfigured as a heavy-lift drone capable of being operated remotely and carrying ten times the payload of current similarly sized systems on the market -- easily enough to lift a casualty like a stricken climber to safety.

Other use cases include search & rescue, leisure, disaster relief, security and policing. The company estimates the potential market for security, defence and rescue uses alone is worth in excess of £700M. with the global lift market worth approximately £525 BN a year

Helicopters are currently used to carry out much of this work, but Maverick's Jetpack is far smaller, uses sustainable fuel, and can slash costs.

The jetpack is unusually light because Maverick exploited advanced manufacturing techniques like 3D printing and materials including aluminium, titanium and carbon fibre. It will travel at between 10mph and 30mph depending on the task.

The operator can switch on an in-built autopilot so they can multi-task while in flight if necessary. Early work on the control system software was funded by a £97,000 grant from Innovate UK, secured by Maverick's grant partner Catax [2] . The team has since received additional funding, including grants and business mentorship from the University of Southampton Science Park and the company is about to start seeking further investment to take the jetpack to market.

Co-founder Matt Denton is also Maverick's CTO, well regarded for his work on animatronics and control systems, having worked on numerous Star Wars movies that saw him develop the BB-8 droid from 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He also worked on Jurassic World and Harry Potter movies, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire.

Co-founder and CEO of Maverick Aviation, Antony Quinn commented.

"The jetpack uses the same sort of jet engines that you see on a passenger plane, only ours are the size of a rugby ball. What is unique about what we're doing is the computer-controlled autopilot system that makes flying effortless and easy to control with precision. That's how we have changed jetpacks from exciting to useful.

"It's so intuitive to fly that the cost of training is going to be low, so you're going to have all sorts of professionals suddenly able to work in the most inaccessible environments safely and quickly.

"I realised that the growing onshore and offshore wind industry really needed a solution like this. Their engineers climb up ladders inside these structures for hours each day and, in an emergency situation, it's almost impossible to get down quickly. Drones can be useful for inspections, but in many circumstances you need to get an engineer up there.

"Before, people would have used a £30m helicopter to perform some simple tasks, we can offer a more tailored solution at a fraction of the cost."