A fleet of passenger drones are scheduled to take to the air this summer in Dubai. Mattar Al Tayer, head of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, said during the World Government Summit this week that the city plans to have the drone regularly traversing the city’s skies by July 2017.
The EHang 184 was presented at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The drone was unveiled in a flight over Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped luxury hotel that is the fourth-tallest hotel in the world.
Dubai is notorious for suffering from major traffic issues – the passenger drones will offer commuters and alternative. Once the passenger is buckled in and selects a destination, the drone automatically flies off. A control room will monitor the drones remotely via 4G mobile internet. The battery lasts for up to 30 minutes of flight and a range of up to about 50 kilometers.