Volocopter signs agreement with the Dubai government for pilotless, electric multicopter

The agreement forms part of Dubai’s strategy to switch 25% of all passenger travel to autonomous transport by 2030.

The Volocopter 2X, was unveiled earlier this year and features two-seats, 18 rotors, fully redundant powertrains, a full aircraft emergency parachute system and nine independent battery systems with battery charging time of 40min.

The German company said the Dubai air taxi trials will allow the 2X to be tested under “extreme climatic conditions”.

The 2X is designed with a flight time of 30min, a cruise speed of 27kt (50km/h) and a top speed of 100km/h. It measures about 2m (6ft 6in) in height, and the diameter of the rotor rim including propellers is about 7m.