Dubai today took a test flight on what it claims to be World’s first drone taxi service under an ambitious plan by the United Arab Emirates city to lead the Arab world in innovation. The device was flown at an height of about 200 meters and flown for about five minutes over a windswept patch of sand astride the emirate’s Gulf coast.
The flying taxi is developed by German based drone firm Volocopter, which resembles a small, two-seater helicopter cabin having a wide hoop studded with 18 propellers. The taxi made a unmanned ride in its maiden run in a ceremony organised for the Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.
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it is meant to fly without remote control guidance and with a maximum flight duration of 30 minutes, it comes with plenty of fail-safes in case of trouble: back-up batteries, rotors and, for a worst case scenario, a couple of parachutes.
