World’s First Drone Taxi Performs A Successful ‘Concept’ Flight In Dubai
Dubai made a successful “concept” flight of the soon to be the world’s first drone taxi known as Volocopter on Monday without passengers. The flying taxi was unmanned and soared at the ceremony, which was arranged for Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
During the flight test, the unoccupied flying taxi blasted off over the sand near the Jumeirah Beach Park for about five minutes and landed safely. The electric drone taxi was developed by German drone firm Volocopter. It is a two-seater helicopter cabin topped by a 22-foot-wide hoop and secured by about 18 propellers.
It is about 6.5-foot-high and has smaller physical than the traditional helicopter. It could be fully charged for two hours.
The drone taxi is designed with a maximum flight duration of 30 minutes and has a speed of about 30 miles per hour. It is equipped with several fail-safes in case of trouble. These include the rotors, back-batteries and a few emergency parachutes, according to NDTV.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai, stated that the encouraging innovation and adopting the latest technologies could contribute to Dubai’s development and build bridges into the future. It is reported that Dubai ranks No. 85 in the world bad traffic.
Driverless hover-taxi makes first 'concept' flight in Dubai. https://t.co/QY17Oaw4dv pic.twitter.com/q0sC2o1EF6
— Discovery Canada (@DiscoveryCanada) September 26, 2017
With this innovative transportation, the traffic congestion could be resolved and improved in Dubai. Commuters and tourists would have easy access to their destinations.
Meanwhile, the Road and Transport Authority stated that there will be some regulatory structures that are needed before the implementation of the flying taxis in Dubai. These include the safety standards, routes, take-off and landing points, among others.
If everything is prepared and ready, the commuters will use an app to request pickups at close by voloports, which connect to Dubai’s public transport systems like a tram, metro, and marine transport. CEO Florian Reuter said that the implementation would see using your smartphone, having an app and ordering a Volocopter to the next voloport near you. He further said that the Volocopter will come and pick the commuter and take him to his destination.
The developer said that the first licensed Volocopter might be on the market in 2018. On the other hand, the price has not been revealed, according to Bloomberg Quint.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
