Dubai Starts Tests in Bid To Become First City With Flying Taxis (reuters.com)

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Dubai Starts Tests in Bid To Become First City With Flying Taxis (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on Monday September 25, 2017 @01:25PM from the to-the-future dept.

Dubai staged a test flight on Monday for what it said would soon be the world's first drone taxi service under an ambitious plan by the United Arab Emirates city to lead the Arab world in innovation. From a report: The flying taxi developed by German drone firm Volocopter resembles a small, two-seater helicopter cabin topped by a wide hoop studded with 18 propellers. It was unmanned for its maiden test run in a ceremony arranged for Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. 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.

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Groan... by Frosty+Piss · 2017-09-25 13:32 · Score: 2

Sure, it's something to think about because if we don't start down that road of development now we won't be ready when the technology actually supports it. But right now and for the near future, the technology DOES NOT support it.
Stories like this that imply WE'LL HAVE FLYING CARS IN FIVE YEARS are just stupid and a waste of time to read.
Though I don't doubt that the rich fuckers in Dubai may be the first to be able to afford it...

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1. Re:Groan... by stabiesoft · 2017-09-25 13:44 · Score: 1
  
  So given the choice between autonomous taxis and flying taxis, I am guessing you are going with cars. I'm thinking flying taxis. It fixes the primary problem (at least in the US) which is the government failing to build new roads.
2. Re:Groan... by roc97007 · 2017-09-25 14:19 · Score: 1
  
  One way to look at it is that the rich... um, people in Dubai are ironing out the bugs in the technology for us.
  
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3. Re:Groan... by HornWumpus · 2017-09-25 14:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'm going with: 'Start business building bunker like, flying taxi proof, houses for richers.'
  Of course we'll have the 'crete delivered in flying autonomous trucks. That's just obvious. Forgone conclusion.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
4. Re:Groan... by BoogieChile · 2017-09-25 14:41 · Score: 1
  
  How about autonomous flying taxis?
5. Re:Groan... by crunchygranola · 2017-09-25 15:09 · Score: 3
  
  The technology is apparently here to support this vehicle.
  Which costs $350,000 and can carry 160 kg a maximum distance of 27 km at 50 km/h (that is 350 lb, 17 miles, and 42 MPH to those using pre-1795 measuring systems) and takes 2 hours to fully charge.
  With a charge time:flight time ratio of 2:1 you could get in 8 hours of flight a day, around the clock, or about 400 km total travel distance. If used as a short range shuttle over a congested city center you might get in up to forty 10 km trips a day, maybe ~10,000 in a year. Looks like this could be a profitable service with a not-astronomical fare price.
  
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  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
6. Re: Groan... by rylyeh · 2017-09-25 15:24 · Score: 1
  
  Amazing to me that the Jetsons are still the gold standard in futurism!
  
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7. Re:Groan... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-25 15:26 · Score: 1
  
  First crash it's done forever, lawsuits will bankrupt the company, and it will set flying taxis back by 50 years. Blade Runner I will never happen. Fuck these morons for trying to move too quickly.
8. Re:Groan... by ShanghaiBill · 2017-09-25 17:31 · Score: 1
  
  First crash it's done forever, lawsuits will bankrupt the company
  People said the same about Tesla Autopilot. Then it killed a few people. The world continued to turn, and Tesla owners continue to use Autopilot. People are tolerant of a few deaths if they can see that the overall system is generally safe.
  Nobody expects perfect safety from a flying taxi. If it is as safe as a normal taxi, then that is good enough.
9. Re:Groan... by crunchygranola · 2017-09-25 19:01 · Score: 1
  
  First crash it's done forever, lawsuits will bankrupt the company, and it will set flying taxis back by 50 years. Blade Runner I will never happen. Fuck these morons for trying to move too quickly.
  These don't crash so easily. They have multiple redundancy in the rotor array, the craft itself is self-flying - the "pilot" just guides it where to go, and it does have that aircraft safety parachute if everything fails to bring the craft to the ground in a not-catastrophic manner.
  
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  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
10. Re:Groan... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-25 22:35 · Score: 1
  
  The difference is that Tesla is a cult; people are willing to forgive pretty much anything and actually buy those DRM cars.
11. Re:Groan... by parkinglot777 · 2017-09-26 01:03 · Score: 1
  
  The technology is apparently here to support this vehicle.
  Which costs $350,000 ...
  Which is a disposable change for royal family of Dubai. In other words, they don't care for the cost. What they may care is that they get a new toy that most (if not all) people in the world don't have/get (yet).
No, There Aren't "A Couple of Parachutes" by crunchygranola · 2017-09-25 14:09 · Score: 1

There is however an (optional) full aircraft parachute that brings the entire vehicle to the ground. This is called a "ballistic total separation system". I am puzzled though about what gets "separated" here. Ejecting any part of the vehicle is going to be a problem for people on the ground.

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Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
1. Re:No, There Aren't "A Couple of Parachutes" by mykro76 · 2017-09-25 14:53 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Ejecting any part of the vehicle is going to be a problem for people on the ground.
  I suppose that won't really matter if the only people on the ground are the worker classes.
2. Re:No, There Aren't "A Couple of Parachutes" by scdeimos · 2017-09-25 15:24 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I am puzzled though about what gets "separated" here.
  The rotor heads are attached to the parachute so that they land safely to be reused on the next taxi. i.e.: the passenger compartment falls to the ground and erupts in a Li-Poly fireball.
3. Re:No, There Aren't "A Couple of Parachutes" by scdeimos · 2017-09-25 15:38 · Score: 1
  I haven't found any diagrams or pictures of a Volocopter parachute deployment, however:
  
  According to the specifications (https://www.volocopter.com/assets/pdf/2017_04_Design_specifications_2X.pdf) it's just labelled as a "full aircraft emergency parachute."
  The overhead picture on this 2013 article shows a hump on top of the craft that is probably the stowed parachute - but this hump isn't present on the models being demonstrated in Dubai at the moment.
Re: Muslim technology by roc97007 · 2017-09-25 14:18 · Score: 1

Woosh?

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Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Re:Too Much Safety by roc97007 · 2017-09-25 14:21 · Score: 1

I'm thinking the parachutes automatically deploy, or not. No human intervention.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Re:Here is an idea... by HornWumpus · 2017-09-25 14:40 · Score: 1

Sure to be funded. High 8 figure initial round, no prototype required. Arm wave, a smile and a pretty picture. KChing.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Not the First by SeattleLawGuy · 2017-09-25 14:46 · Score: 1

It's hardly the first city with flying taxis. You can book helicopter flights in NYC now, for example. They're just pricey.

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Real lawyers write in C++
Re:First thing: by sit1963nz · 2017-09-25 14:47 · Score: 1

Ever think they may have been a first attempt at landing lights ?
Re:Here is an idea... by crunchygranola · 2017-09-25 15:12 · Score: 1

The SkyWedgie!

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Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
Half the population by agm · 2017-09-25 16:05 · Score: 1

I wonder if half the population will be prohibited from flying them.
First city? by FredrikKarlsson · 2017-09-25 16:27 · Score: 1

Have you been to Monacco? They have Helicopters for taxis. There are several companies that specializing in flying.
Re:Too Much Safety by ShanghaiBill · 2017-09-25 17:25 · Score: 1

I'm thinking the parachutes automatically deploy, or not. .
It's a helicopter, so it can auto-rotate to slow the descent.
One job at a time by stealth_finger · 2017-09-25 20:26 · Score: 1

First get autonomous cars and flying cars sorted as separate entities before you try and combine the two.

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1. Re:One job at a time by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-28 02:04 · Score: 1
  
  It might be counter intuitive, but an autonomous flying vehicle is much simpler than an autonomous ground vehicle.
  You simply design an invisible grid of flight pathes, with apropriated flight hights, depending on direction. E.g. west to east in flit hight 300 - 500 feet, north to south 600 - 900 feet.
  You likely only will have fixed landing sites, so you need an angle for approching flights and another for departing flights, and you easily have an intersection free greed of light paths.
  
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2. Re:One job at a time by stealth_finger · 2017-09-28 03:33 · Score: 1
  
  It might be counter intuitive, but an autonomous flying vehicle is much simpler than an autonomous ground vehicle.
  You simply design an invisible grid of flight pathes, with apropriated flight hights, depending on direction. E.g. west to east in flit hight 300 - 500 feet, north to south 600 - 900 feet.
  You likely only will have fixed landing sites, so you need an angle for approching flights and another for departing flights, and you easily have an intersection free greed of light paths.
  Hmmm. you think having multiple directions of travel at different heights, that all will need traversing is a simpler system than having the all in the same direction road ways we have? Ok, there's a lot more space so it will be less congested but I wouldn't agree a flying car is simpler than a road one for two key reasons. 1) the amount of directions a thing can come from and 2) the post crash scenario.
  
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3. Re:One job at a time by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-28 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  Hmmm. you think having multiple directions of travel at different heights, that all will need traversing is a simpler system than having the all in the same direction road ways we have?
  Yes it is.
  Air traffic already works that way.
  1) the amount of directions a thing can come from
  It cant. It can onyl come from one direction. Seems you did not grasp my explanation about "flight paths".
  2) the post crash scenario.
  Yeah, the flying car will likely land (with a parachute) on a road with ordinary cars :D
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
4. Re:One job at a time by stealth_finger · 2017-09-28 10:40 · Score: 1
  
  Hmmm. you think having multiple directions of travel at different heights, that all will need traversing is a simpler system than having the all in the same direction road ways we have? Yes it is. Air traffic already works that way.
  Yes. and they have at least 2-3 miles of separation per vehicle which travel in narrow paths in a few set directions. They also separate by height on the same directions. Contrast to the flying cars which could be going literally any direction. I assume your height things are 100m-200m for 0-5degress 200-300m for 5-10 degrees etc, leading on to
  
  1) the amount of directions a thing can come from It cant. It can onyl come from one direction. Seems you did not grasp my explanation about "flight paths".
  And how do you propose these vehicles navigate between different height levels? What if someone wants to change destination and turn around, surely they'll need a new height level which could be anything depending on your system. Even if you limit it to N,E,S,W over a city thats 4 layers of traffic coming up and down over any potential destination.
  
  2) the post crash scenario. Yeah, the flying car will likely land (with a parachute) on a road with ordinary cars :D
  Nothing can possibly go wrong with this
  
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5. Re:One job at a time by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-28 18:19 · Score: 1
  
  What if someone wants to change destination and turn around,
  Then they fly to the next corridor, where you can change destination.
  Even if you limit it to N,E,S,W over a city thats 4 layers of traffic coming up and down over any potential destination.
  No, they use dedicated decent paths on every landing point.
  E.g. you can only decent coming from around 0 degrees and your ascent has to go towards 180 degrees.
  As I said before: ordinary air traffic is already more or less organized like that.
  Especially over a city you can not simply fly straight from A to B on a hight you want.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Re:First thing: by Maritz · 2017-09-25 21:49 · Score: 1

You're thinking of the Saudis. You know, those other oil-funded tyrant barbarian scumbags.

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Who is Innovating Exactly ? by nukenerd · 2017-09-25 21:57 · Score: 1

FTFA :-

to lead the Arab world in innovation. ...... The flying taxi developed by German drone firm Volocopter .....

I'm afraid they lost me there.
Re: Muslim technology by Jesus+H+Rolle · 2017-09-26 20:16 · Score: 1

4:20
Flying Taxi by dorothycoughlan · 2017-09-27 01:10 · Score: 1

Wow! i hope this really happens. I'm very lucky to be living in this era. https://drugabusecontrol.com/
Re: Muslim technology by kilfarsnar · 2017-09-27 01:12 · Score: 1

Moron. #CrookedHillary lost on her own evil deeds.
And now Krooked Kushner is following suit. No doubt Trump would post a tweet denying such hypocrisy... assuming he could spell the word.
It's been apparent for a while now that hypocrisy is not a concept that Republicans understand. There is no intellectual consistency, only political expedience.

--
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Re:Too Much Safety by roc97007 · 2017-09-28 11:33 · Score: 1

Yeah, you beat me to it. Multiple-blade copters tend to drop like a brick when the blades stop turning. Not enough inertia in the blades, maybe.

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Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.