Dubai's first flying-taxi just took off and here are the pictures
The taxis are GPS-enabled and will be embedded with the ability to detect and deal with air traffic or obstacles on the way
Moneycontrol News
Dubai staged a test flight on Monday for what could soon possibly be the world's first drone taxi service in the world, as per a report by Reuters.
The ‘flying taxi’, developed by German drone firm Volocopter, soared to a height of 200 metres and flew for about five minutes. The taxi looks like a small, twin-seater helicopter cabin which is topped by a wide hoop powered by 18 propellers.
Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (2nd R) stands in front of the flying taxi in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Courtesy: Reuters)
The maiden run for the helicopter taxi took place at Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed stadium.
The helicopter drone is designed to fly for a maximum duration of 30 minutes and without a remote control guidance.
The helicopter comes equipped with plenty of fail-safes that include backup batteries, rotors and a couple of parachutes for those worst-case scenarios.
German firm Volocopter, however, is not the only one experimenting with new modes of air public transport and already has its horns locked with several European and US firms that are innovating on creating the next go-to mode of futuristic public transport, whether that be a driverless car or a vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The flying taxi in Dubai during its test run (Courtesy: Reuters)
One of the leading one in that list is aviation industry veteran AirBus who is in line to create an airborne self-piloting taxi by 2020, Kitty Hawk, a company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page and Uber which is also working on flying taxis.
“Implementation would see you using your smartphone, having an app, and ordering a Volocopter to the next voloport near you. The volocopter would come and autonomously pick you up and take you to your destination,” CEO Florian Reuter said as per the Reuters report.
Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is seen inside the flying taxi in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Courtesy: Reuters)
The taxis are GPS-enabled and will be embedded with the ability to detect and deal with air traffic or obstacles on the way.
The UAE also plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021, which will officially be its first mission into space.
