Dubai aims to launch hover-taxi by July
Dubai aims to launch hover-taxi by July
February 13, 2017
The electric EHang 184 can travel at 100km per hour at
300m above the ground, the Dubai transport authority says
Dubai has tested a Chinese prototype of a self-driving
hover-taxi, its transport authority said on Monday, with the aim of introducing
the aerial vehicle in the emirate by July.
The test of the one-man electric vehicle comes as the
city state in the United Arab Emirates seeks to ensure a quarter of its means
of transport are self-driving by 2030.
The EHang 184 can travel on a programmed course at 100
kilometres an hour (60 mph) at an altitude of 300 metres (1,000 feet), the
authority said in a statement.
A passenger simply needs to select a destination for the
autonomous taxi to take off, fly the route and touch down in the chosen spot
monitored by a ground control centre, it said.
The vehicle, made by Chinese drone manufacturer EHang,
can recharge in two hours and make trips of up to 30 minutes.
"The autonomous aerial vehicle exhibited at the
World Government Summit is not just a model," authority head Mattar
al-Tayer said on Monday.
"We have already experimented (with) the vehicle in
a flight in (the) Dubai sky," he said in English.
The authority was "making every effort to start the
operation of the autonomous aerial vehicle in July 2017" to help reduce
traffic congestion, Tayer said.
The quadcopter is powered by eight propellers, the
authority said.
It has highly accurate sensors and can resist extreme
temperatures, it said. The emirate is known for its scorching summers.
In November, Dubai agreed a deal with US startup
Hyperloop One to study the construction of a near-supersonic transport link to
the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi.
Home to Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, Dubai is
a leading tourist destination in the Gulf, attracting a record 14.9 million
visitors in 2016.
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