Drones are tired to fly just to take photos and videos. Lately also want to bring the humans on board and they do so thanks to Volocopter VC200. Electric, steering and autonomous driving. It is the taxi produced by the german startup Volocopter, from which the invention is also named. It is a robot helicopter as a giant drone named AAT, acronym for Autonomous Air Taxi. It wants to “make every man’s dream of flying and helping cities solve their mobility problems”.
Real debut for AAT was not far from Jumeirah Beach Park in Dubai. A new page of mobility history has been written. It is the first test of a non-pilot helicopter designed to transform tomorrow’s movements has been completed. The giant drone-like vehicle has two seats, 18 rotos, and is powered by nine batteries. It has a 30-minutes autonomy and reaches a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour. The vertical take-off model will serve as a taxi, and can be booked through a simple app.
It looks like a vision from the future but Volocopter is already a reality. Last September, the first flight test was conducted in Dubai thanks to an agreement with the local transport authority (RTA). The helicopter flew for 5 minutes, about 200 meters high, without passengers, waiting for all safety measures to be completed. The automated electric drone takes off as a standard consumer drone: vertically, like a helicopter would. This allows it to land in tight spaces, as opposed to requiring a runway. In this first phase, the drone is only running low-altitude flights at a maximum speed of 13 knots (25 km / h), but they are already studying how to take it to higher altitudes and up to 54 knots (100 km / h).
The first taxi of the future, according to forecasts, could come on the market already next year. It is not yet known how much a “run” on Volocopter will cost. To date, the company has raised 25 million euros in investment. Investors include Intel and the Daimler automotive company.
The investor Lukasz Gadowski has already successfully founded and financed numerous enterprises. Gadowski has enormous experience in the fast and global scaling of tech start-ups. “I have been interested in flying cars and following their development for a while. When I saw the Volocopter I got it: ‘‘the flying car has no wheels! What is exciting at Volocopter is not just the magnificent vision but also that which has already been tangibly implemented. Huge ambition with both feet on the ground – a unique combination! In the coming years we can expect a revolution in manned aviation. We at Volocopter will significantly contribute to shaping it!”
CEO of Volocopter, Florian Reuter, claims that the current model is capable of flying based on GPS tracks, and that the company aims to “implement full sense capability” moving forward. Basically this would allow for sophisticated obstacle avoidance and anti-collision measures to be in place, further strengthening the argument for safety. However could result from this invention problems such as regulation of air traffic, identification of areas forbidden to such vehicles and mapping of vehicles. It is also important to ensure the safety of the flights. All this will be not a simple work. In addition, the incompatibility with the current transport market has to be noted. These could claim because a large number of customers might prefer the new market to the traditional one. Currently Volocopter is not yet ready for use. This is due to reliability issues, battery autonomy, low speeds that would lead to preferring the traditional taxi. It’s important to note also the high costs of ‘‘taxiplane’’ installations. How many cities will be able to install and take advantage of this service in a short time? It’s hard to say but surely only a few big cities will be ready to adopt this solution in a shortly time.
However already in 2030 in the most famous of the seven emirates that make up the rich gulf state, the authorities aim at 25% autonomous mobility, between road and air. The price of a vehicle is not very low. The Wall Street Journal reported that the initial price of the Volocopter will be €250,000, the price for the 18-Rotor Electric Helicopter is €600,000 in Crowdfunding and the ultimate goal is for the price to go down. The era of personal flight is only at the beginning but the premise is more than good.
Sources:
https://www.volocopter.com/en/
http://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-flying-taxi-drone-volocopter-test-pilot-unmanned-2017-9?IR=T
https://www.wired.com/2015/06/18-rotor-volocopter-like-flying-car-better/
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/dubai-volocopter-passenger-drone-test/
Good job! it’s news that gives hope! The “flying cars” have been an idea for a long time but we still can not see any trace of them. Once again I’m not surprised that this kind of news comes directly from the Arab emirates and I sincerely believe that it would certainly be an invention that would change the way we live, I mean, they are taxis that fly!Surely, however, it will not be easy and I guess also that a long time and a lot of money in addition to many obtained permits will be needed.Another doubt that I immediately had was: “How much will a ride on the drone cost?” I mean, the first time would be fun but then, when the choice will be made again based on price, are we sure the price will be competitive? And finally I think it will be necessary to make the drones more roomy, two places are not enough! Think of all the trips lost to groups of customers