Monday, Jun 19, 2017

Dubai

A 2-seater aerial vehicle will be on trial in Dubai by the end of this year, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Monday.

The RTA has announced that it has signed an agreement with German firm Volocopter, which specialises in manufacturing Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAV), to begin trials in the fourth quarter of this year.

Earlier this year the authority announced trial run of a pilotless aerial vehicle by July in collaboration with a Chinees firm Ehang, however, details of progress on that project is not yet available.

On Monday, the RTA annonced that it has extended the test run of its manned Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) to meet all operational requirements of safety and security.

“The test run of the first AAT capable of carrying two passengers will be carried out following the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city worldwide,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

He added that the project is par tof RTA’s efforts to provide autonomous transportation by conducting the required technological tests of those vehicles under the climatic conditions of Dubai.

The move also echoes Dubai’s Smart Autonomous Mobility Strategy that seeks to transform a quarter of the total trips in Dubai into autonomous transport by 2030.

Equipped with nine independent battery systems, with a quick battery charging time of 40 minutes, the AAT has multiple redundancy in all critical components such as propellers, motors, power source, electronics and flight controls.

The two-seater aircraft is also fitted with a full aircraft emergency parachute.

“The AAT is powered by electricity and has high safety features, thanks to its design comprising 18 rotors to ensure safe cruising and landing of the taxi in case of any rotor failure. The air taxi is characterised by its autopilot or autonomous flying, thus enabling the movement of people from one place to another without human intervention or a need for flight license holder,” said Al Tayer.

Capable to have a continuous flight time of 30 minutes at a cruise spee dof 50kph, the vehicle can reach the maximum airspee dof 100kph.

Al Tayer informed that the German firm got a nod after an RTA team of experts surveyed a number of AAV manufacturers and zeroed down on Volocopter for its compliance with the highest international safety and security standards.

“In the final quarter of this year, the RTA will launch the trial run of the AAT, and the experimental phase is likely to continue, with the follow up of the issuance of the legislations required to operate such a kind of vehicles for about five years,” he added.

During the trial period, all aspects relating to the operation as well as security and safety of the autonomous aerial taxi will be verified and checked.

“The official operation hinges on the readiness of companies and the availability of legislations necessary for operating autonomous aerial vehicles,” said Al Tayer.

Staff Report

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