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Passenger-Carrying Drones Could Become A Norm Within 10 Years: Uber
Swarajya Staff
Sep 27, 2016, 12:53 PM | Updated 12:53 PM IST
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In July, Amazon announced a partnership with the British government to start testing package delivery using drones in rural and suburban areas. This was followed with Alphabet announcing a partnership to deliver Burritos to students of Virginia Tech for fast-food chain Chipotle.
However, soon drones may be transporting more than just packages. Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden recently spoke about plans of transporting passengers via unmanned aerial vehicles.
In an interview with Recode, Holden said the company was investing in research into Vertical-Take Offs and Landings (VTOL). It is an aircraft’s capability to take off and land vertically, negating the need for a runway.
With Uber being a frontrunner in the development of self-driven autonomous cars, this seems to be a natural progression. Holden also spoke about his dreams of every building becoming an airport of sorts, and that passenger drone technology could be a fully functioning norm within a decade.
At the same time, the Airbus Group has revealed its plans for a city-based air taxi concept, called the CityAirBus. The VTOL aircraft is set to have a functional prototype by 2017. In the initial stage, it would be operated by a pilot before moving on to an unmanned setup.
The Singapore government is offering support in the form of its Skyways project. Starting with unmanned drone delivery of packages, the intention of the project is to develop a regulatory mechanism for unmanned aircraft by mid-2017.
Airbus Helicopters, a partner in the Skyways Project has developed a zenAirCity concept, which aims to use electric-powered aircraft for ride-sharing operations in the urban areas.
Ride-sharing in the aviation sector would bring down the cost of transit for commuters, while offering faster transit options.
The biggest hurdle for air-based transit in cities is that no city would allow an unmanned craft to fly over their territories. Vassilis Agouridas of Airbus Helicopters said that keeping in mind modern constraints, flying is largely ignored by planners of smart cities.
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