Back during CES 2016, people were awed by the EHang 184 AVV, a single person pod that gains flight through the eight rotors it has mounted on four folding arms. Just yesterday, at the World Government Summit, the head of the Roads & Transport Authority revealed that the Chinese EHang 184 passenger drone will begin “regular operations” around the city in July of 2017.
Furthermore, Mattar al-Tayer, the head of the RTA revealed that “We have actually experimented with this vehicle flying in Dubai’s skies.” The drone pod’s autopilot will be directed and monitored from a central command centre. The personal drone will be capable of carrying a single passenger for 20-odd minutes at 60-miles an hour, with the mileage being about 20 miles. In addition to a single passenger, there will be a compartment to store a small bag.
The EHang 184 is the latest addition to the city’s growing population of autonomous vehicles and will help towards achieving HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision of wanting 25 percent of all passenger trips in the city to be done by driverless vehicles in 2030. In addition to the EHang 184, the EZ10, built by France’s EasyMil, has also been seen being tested near the Burj Khalifa. Meanwhile, the government of Dubai has also signed an MOU with Hyperloop One to study the feasibility of building a Hyperloop to connect Dubai with the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi.
Featured image by Getty Images.
