Dubai has successfully tested the world’s first Air taxi service on Monday at United Arab Emirates city. The unmanned craft is manufactured by German drone maker Volocopter. The craft has a two-seater seating configuration along with eighteen rotor which able the craft to takes off and lands vertically. The vehicle is designed to fly autonomously for up to 30 minutes, making it ideal for short-distance urban travel.
Dubai had named it the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT), and is environmentally friendly as it is powered by electricity. The prototype version has a maximum flight time of 30 minutes, at a cruising speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), and a maximum airspeed of 100 km/h (62 mph).
The project aims to grow into an Uber-like platform where travellers be able to book from their smart phones and board from a nearest “voloport.”
The vehicle is equipped with a number of fail-safe devices such as extra batteries, rotors, and parachutes in the event of emergency.
Flying vehicles seems to be the next mode of urban travel as big brands like google’s Kitty Hawk, and Uber’s own flying taxi are in the process of developing their own version.
