The cities have been highly congested, and more and more startups are on their ways to fix the traffic jam problem by designing flying cars. Fortunately, all the hard works gets paid.
While most cities are still caught up wondering about regular self-driving cars, Dubai is busy putting self-driving flying cars through their paces. Recently，the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) of Dubai, world’s first self-flying taxi introduced by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) given a test flight last month, launched its maiden concept trip.
The AAT, capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot，is expected to be put into use in the fourth quarter. Although it’s not yet available commercially, in the foreseeable future we will have the honorable opportunities to witness another big change in human’s transportation, the 18-rotor flying drone promises to be the eco-friendly, electrically-powered transportation solution of tomorrow.
What does the AAT looks like？
The AAT contains two seats, and users can book flights and track routes via a smartphone app. The AAT is powered by electricity, with its design of comprising 18 rotors to ensure secure cruising and landing in case of any rotor failure.
The maximum flight time is approximately 30 minutes at a speed of 50 km per hour, and the maximum air speed is 100 km per hour.
Flying cars have been promised for decades, but are arriving now.
The first flying cars emerged in 1914.However, limited by the industry level，machining cost and public acceptance of safety, startups didn’t flourish. Thanks to the technological breakthroughs similar to those underpinning self-driving cars, this renewed enthusiasm has been powered.
The essential breakthroughs includes the shift to electric propulsion, driven by improvements in battery technology, and advances in machine learning that enable machines to “see” and pilot themselves.
The motion efficiency is competitive to the tradition car in a long distance.
Besides the motion efficiency is competitive to the tradition car in a long distance. The motion efficiency for a car at 65 mph is the same as the motion efficiency for a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) traveling at 125mph. At higher car and VTOL speeds, the VTOL’s motion efficiency gains an advantage over the car, but at lower motion efficiencies for both.
The AAT was supplied by a German manufacturer Volocopter
Dubai has a target for autonomous transport to account for a quarter of total trips by 2030. The AAT is one part of this target. The AAT was supplied by a German manufacturer Volocopte.
Other flying cars startups in the world
There are several promising flying cars startups in the world besides Volocopte. Some of these startups are on the schedule to release their commercial product in the near future.
Many startups chose electric power in the flying car.
Batteries are extremely limiting for small aircraft.
Unlike electric cars, these flying vehicles will require a tremendous burst of power to achieve vertical lift-off, and this power burst means that there is less energy stored overall in the battery.
For a small personal craft such as the Joby S2 electric VTOL aircraft, the 700-pound battery can represent nearly half the total weight of the entire vehicle.
Lots of challenges
There is still much to do in terms of public acceptance and regulation before the skies are packed with flying cars.
Besides, one big problem in winning public acceptance is noise, even though electric engines promise to be much quieter than a traditional helicopter.
Another big problem is regulatory uncertainty, from air traffic control to safety checks and challenges.
