Driverless air taxis, drones, pods: Dubai puts future tech at heart of transportation

Driverless air taxis, drones, pods: Dubai puts future tech at heart of transportation

Dubai wants 25 percent of its total transportation to be autonomous by 2030. But that's just the tip of the technology iceberg.

You cannot fault the ambition. While other countries are discussing the rules and regulations surrounding autonomous vehicles, the emirate of Dubai is simply powering ahead with them.

In 2016, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, announced plans for a quarter of all journeys in Dubai to be driverless by 2030.

He described the move as part of a "globally unique model for future cities… turning [Dubai] into the world's biggest laboratory for technology, research and development".

"Smart transportation is intended to be one of the main axes in the achievement of a sustainable economy in the UAE," he said.

Since then, Middle East unicorn Careem, a car-booking app that operates in more than 120 cities across 15 countries, has collaborated with Californian-based NEXT Future Transportation to develop driverless electric pods.

 Read more : https://www.zdnet.com/article/driverless-air-taxis-drones-pods-dubai-puts-future-tech-at-heart-of-transportation/