Passenger drones to take to the skies in Dubai

Passenger drones could be seen in the skies above Dubai as early as July 2017, according to the city’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). Speaking at the World Government Summit, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of RTA, said the pilotless drones, designed to carry a weight of 100kg and a small suitcase, will have a range of 50 km and are on track to take off beginning in July 2017. The drones are part of Dubai’s strategy on autonomous transportation, under which 25 per cent of all journeys within the Emirat
February 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Passenger drones could be seen in the skies above Dubai as early as July 2017, according to the city’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA).

Speaking at the World Government Summit, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of RTA, said the pilotless drones, designed to carry a weight of 100kg and a small suitcase, will have a range of 50 km and are on track to take off beginning in July 2017.

The drones are part of Dubai’s strategy on autonomous transportation, under which 25 per cent of all journeys within the Emirate are expected to be smart and driverless by 2030.

According to Associated Press, the Chinese-made EHang 184 has a top speed of 160 kph (100 mph), but authorities say it will be operated typically at 100 kph (62 mph). It carries only one passenger, who selects a destination on a touch-screen pad in front of the seat and the drone flies there automatically.

“This is not only a model,” al-Tayer said. “We have actually experimented with this vehicle flying in Dubai's skies.”

Related Content

  • Speed limits: is 20 really plenty?
    June 16, 2020
    Speed kills – which means cutting speed should cut collisions. But is it that simple?
    Read More
  • Trust AI – it knows more than we do
    January 14, 2020
    There’s no shortage of data – but making the most of it is the problem. Andrew Bunn examines how AI will be able to support and influence the development of advanced transportation strategies
    Read More
  • A new direction for the future of mobility?
    August 14, 2013
    Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has unveiled his vision of a futuristic Hyperloop transport system this week, proposing to build a solar-powered network of crash-proof capsules that would whisk people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in half an hour. Musk says the Hyperloop is expected to be a closed-tube transport system not unlike the pneumatic delivery systems found in some old buildings, which use a pulse of air to move a capsule and cargo to a designated location. Based on what he has revealed to date,
    Read More
  • ‘Risky tailgating and speeding rife on UK motorways’
    May 22, 2014
    Six in ten UK drivers own up to risky tailgating (57 per cent) and a similar proportion break the limit by 10mph or more (60 per cent) on motorways and 70mph dual carriageways, with men by far the worst offenders, a survey by Brake and insurance company Direct Line reveals. Almost all drivers say they worry about other drivers tailgating on motorways: 95 per cent are at least occasionally concerned about vehicles too close behind them; more than four in ten (44 per cent) are concerned every, or most, tim
    Read More

Highlighted Content