Flying taxis

© Volocopter.

A prototype of the driverless flying taxi developed by German start-up Volocopter was tested passenger-less on the outskirts of Dubai. The craft is basically an 18-rotor electric drone able to fly for up to 30 minutes at 100km/h. Dubai is pioneering this mode of transportation as part of the futuristic image it seeks to project. UAE authorities say that the roll-out of driverless flying taxi service will have to wait for at least five years, while dedicated infrastructure and regulations are developed. Other entities, like Russian consortium Kalachnikov and European company Airbus, are also working on similar concepts, while Google cofounder Larry Page has invested 100 million dollars in Zee.Aero, a start-up founded in 2010 to work on an ultra-secret flying car project.

⇨ BBC News, “Dubai tests drone taxi service.”