The age of flying taxis might not be upon us as of now, but self-driving taxis have started there run on the streets of Dubai. At the annual consumer electronics trade show Gitex, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, or RTA, showcased the new self-driven taxi service.
The driverless car service will run for the coming three months in select parts of Dubai, according to transportation officials. The cars are intended to connect passengers during the "first and last mile" to get from existing transportation systems to like malls, movie theater or another venue.
According to the RTA, cars can reach up to 20 mph and fit four passengers. In the front, the cars will also have a safety driver, who can take over the controls in case of an emergency. In promotional materials the cars are depicted without the safety driver for a truly driverless experience, pointing towards what the company could introduce later.
A post shared by Digi Robotics Tech (@digirobotics) on Oct 14, 2018 at 12:12pm PDT
These cars are modified Mercedes-Benz sedans with cameras, LiDAR system, and sensors installed in the car. Previously Dubai tested self-driving passenger drones for an air-based taxi service. That service is yet to take flight for the general public. A release about the taxi service hailed the program for its contribution in "transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world."
We have already heard about the Airbus and Audi collaboration, trying to build a city car/flying taxi concept. Uber is also said to be working on a flying taxi hub in Paris. Then we have Kitty Hawk, a secret company founded by Google co-founder Larry Page -- it's working on a project called Cora, which is another flying taxi.
But there's a new player joining the race- Rolls-Royce. Don't be confused, we aren't talking about the luxury car company. We are talking about the engine company that parted ways with the car company decades ago.
The company is planning to dip its hands in the flying vehicle waters and has drawn plans to build an electric vehicle that would be able to reach speeds up to 400 kilometers per hour (250 miles per hour). The company believes that the vehicle could see the light of day as early as the next decade, a timeline that its competition has been aiming.
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