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Dubai Is Testing The First Flying Taxi

Dubai has tested a flight of the world`s first drone taxi in an effort to position itself as a major technology hub in the region. Dubai embraces the future with the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) or Volocopter, a vehicle that can be described as the world`s first taxi service. The AAT is two-seated and capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot. The German-based manufacturer of autonomous air vehicles, Volocopter, is a supplier of the air taxi. The Crown Prince HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the test flight of the vehicle at the end of September, as the local government stated in a press statement. The test took place at a location near the Jumeirah Beach Park. “After the remarkable success of the first driverless metro in the region, we are glad to witness today the test flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi.”, as HH Sheikh Hamdan said. He elaborated that this is another proof of Dubai`s commitment to driving positive change in the region. Furthermore, the Crown Prince added that adopting advanced technologies and applications is the key to “topping global competitiveness rankings”. According to Dubai`s official statement, the AAT is an environmentally-friendly vehicle that currently has a maximum flight time of around 30 minutes at a cruise speed of 50 km/h, and a maximum airspeed of 100 km/h. The AAT is about two meters high with a diameter of the rotor rim, plus propellers, just over seven meters The US-based JDA Aviation Company, autonomous air-vehicle safety specialists will oversee the preparation of future AAT flights, while managing safety. The pilot operations, as well as the development of legislation, will expectedly be in place in the next five years, as HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads & Transportation Authority (RTA) commented. Read the full article