Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority made an announcement last Monday that the futuristic sci-fi technology is about to get real as driverless flying cars will take over the Dubai skies as early as July 2017. The Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) was showcased during the World Government Summit in Dubai. The launch of this aircraft is in line with the Dubai government’s strategy of converting 25% of total individual journeys into fully autonomous trips by 2030.
With an aim to become the first country to start autonomous journeys, the government of Dubai collaborated with a Chinese technology enterprise EHANG to produce a hovering car with a capacity of one passenger. The AAV, codenamed Ehang 184, has already underwent its first trial flight and is further being analyzed.
Ehang 184 resembles a giant drone with a touchscreen display facing the passenger seat on which multiple destinations are dotted. The passenger can select their desired destination and in its response the aircraft would initiate an automatic operation monitored and handled by a control center to transport the passenger safely to their intended destination.
The airborne vehicle weighs 250kg approx., and can carry a load of around 100 kg. It is created to glide for 30 minutes with a maximum cruising speed of 160 kph. Its normal speed in Dubai will be set at 100 km/h. Additionally, the ascending/descending speed is 6 m/s, while the landing speed is 4 m/s. Talking about the design, it is 3.9 meters in length, 4 meters in width and 1.6 meters in height.
Dubai’s driverless flying cars are equipped with M2M and LTE technologies to ensure continuous communication between the AAV and ground-based centers. Each pilotless flying car has 8 electric propellers that work simultaneously to ensure a safe journey. A stand-by system is also there to take control and steer the aircraft in case of system malfunctioning.