I wouldn’t usually revisit an ‘old’ story, but I’ve just found the video that should have accompanied my ‘Drone taxi, anyone?‘ story from 1 March this year…
In March, I wrote that Dubai intends to start a passenger-carrying drone taxi service from July!
The egg-shaped, four-legged, eight-propeller Chinese-made EHang 184 has already had its debut flight over the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab skyscraper hotel.
The EHang 184 can carry a passenger weighing up to 100 kilograms and a small suitcase. To use the taxi, the passenger buckles into its racing-car-style seat, selects a destination on a touch-screen pad in front of the seat and the drone flies there automatically.
The drone’s battery allows for a half-hour flight time and a range of up to 50 kilometres (31 miles). In flight, it will be monitored remotely by a control room on the ground. It has a top speed of 160 kph (100 mph), but will typically operate at 100 kph (62 mph).