Yes, passenger drones are coming! If you haven't been to Dubai yet, this summer you could visit. Starting in July, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates will allow the use of autonomous passenger drones. So the skies above the city are expected to be filled with taxi drones carrying passengers.
The information comes from Mattar al-Tayer, chairman and executive director of the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), who announced his plan at the ongoing World Government Summit.
He did not reveal further details on whether the drones will be sold or available for hire, but what we do know is that this project is part of Dubai's strategy to facilitate a quarter of all travel within the emirate using autonomous vehicles by 2030.
To make this happen, the RTA is working with the Chinese company Ehang which is said to have the world's first drone for passengers. The flying vehicle can travel distances of up to 30 miles on a single charge and can carry a person weighing up to 220 pounds, as well as a small suitcase.
The flight is operated from a ground command centre.
Ehang unveiled the first of its passenger drones last January at CES and received approval to test them in Nevada in August 2016. However, the 184 drone will not carry passengers in the US until it is approved for use by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
So if you want to travel in an autonomous drone, you'll have to fly to Dubai.
