Yes, passenger drones are coming! If you haven't been to Dubai yet, you could visit this summer. Starting in July, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates will allow the use of autonomous passenger drones. So the sky above the city is expected to be filled with taxi drones that will carry passengers.
The information comes from Mattar al-Tayer, chairman and chief executive of the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), who announced his plan at the ongoing World Government Summit.
He did not reveal further details about whether the drones will be sold or available for rent, but what we do know is that this particular plan 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 partnering with Chinese company Ehang, which reportedly has the world's first remotely piloted passenger aircraft. The flying vehicle can travel distances of up to 30 miles on a single charge and can carry a person weighing up to 220 kilograms, as well as a small suitcase.
The flight is operated from a ground control center.
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 all the way to Dubai.
