I suppose there are a few things this design could be well-suited for. The Soviets developed all sorts of wild helicopter designs to service the areas that couldn’t be reached by ground transport and didn’t have the landing facilities for fixed-wing aircraft. So, this isn’t that different in that sense.
As a game-changer...I dunno. I get that it’s high-endurance, but 100 mph top speed dampens my enthusiasm a bit. Cruise speed is likely a lot less than that (I’m betting no more than half, based on what I’ve read on other next-gen airship designs).
I’m not an aerospace engineer, certainly. But this just looks like a niche vehicle, rather than the future of air transport and travel.
It would be useful in delivering supplies to places like Ft. McMurray, Alberta. The could bypass Highway 63 altogether, which is the main highway from Edmonton.
Currently, when you get stuck behind a truck carrying some of the large equipment, you can find that this six hour trip becomes a 15 hour trip and there’s nothing you can do about it, if you value your life than your time.