Dubai has signed an agreement with German Volocopter to trial the Autonomous Air Taxis (AAT) in the emirate. The Road Transport Author...
Dubai has signed an agreement with German Volocopter to trial the Autonomous Air Taxis (AAT) in the emirate.
The Road Transport Authority hopes to carry out operational tests of the Volocopter 2X passenger multicopter to access viability and safety of the system for commercial introduction.
The test will start in the fourth quarter of 2017, and the project has been scheduled to run for five years.
The Volocopter 2X is an all-electric vertical take off and landing (VTOL) multicopter powered by 18 smaller rotors, instead of a single rotor as in a helicopter.
It can carry two passengers and fly for 30 minutes at a cruise speed of 50 km/h, and have a top airspeed of 100 km/h.
The AAT measures about two meters in height, and the diameter of the rotor rim including propellers is about seven meters.
The electric motors of its 18 rotors are powered by 9 independent batteries. Unlike a helicopter, the blade angle on the Volocopter cannot be adjusted. The amount of thrust produced depends solely on the rotation speed of the different rotors.
Appropriate combination of the torques around the vertical axis (yaw), which are produced by the speed differences of the different rotors, and perpendicular to it (roll and pitch), as well as alterations in the total thrust produced by all the rotors enable the Volocopter to maneuver in all three rotational degrees of freedom (pitch, roll, and yaw), whereas the fixed setup of the rotors allows for translational movement (vertical, “up/down”).
In combination with the position angle, the Volocopter is able to make flight movements in all six rotational and translational degrees of freedom as well as indirect horizontal movements (“forwards/backwards” and “rightwards/leftwards”).
The flight control system comprises of several completely independent units. Each flight control unit contains a complete set of positioning sensors that consist of pressure gauges, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers for all three spatial axes.
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| The Volocopter VC200 during its maiden flight in April 2016, from which the 2X is derived. |
Each individual flight control unit is able to completely control the Volocopter. The Volocopter is operated with one hand using a joystick. The pilot intuitively controls all flight axes through rotational movements of the joystick’s axes.
Climb and descent commands are given through an altitude control thumb button. In order to land, the pilot only needs to press and hold the button down until the Volocopter is on the ground. Once it nears the ground, the control system automatically slows down the Volocopter to ensure a gentle landing.
Dubai is also planning to launch an autonomous air taxi drone developed by Chinese firm E Hang this year. The EHang 184 drone has eight propellers and is designed to carry one passenger - weighing up to 100 kilograms - and a small piece of luggage.
