AIR TAXI
Madrigal de la Torre Juan Carlos
Facultad de Ingeniería
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Mérida, México
juandelatorre96@hotmail.com
Abstract— World premiere in Dubai City: The Volocopter takes
off on a test flight under the harshest climatic conditions. The
world’s first autonomous air taxi.
I. INTRODUCTION
The dream of flight is as old as humanity itself. Although many
hurdles have been overcome, the last and decisive one is yet to
come: Flying for everyone, on any occasion, anytime. Precisely
this democratization of air travel is the goal and is nothing less
than a revolution in mobility as we have known it so far.
II. ANALYSIS
The Volocopter 2X, made by the German firm Volocopter, is
the first ever fully electric and manned multicopter with a
permit to fly. This means no combustion engine, no fuel and
no emissions as a result. Instead, the on-board systems and 18
electric drives are supplied by 9 high capacity batteries. The
perfect sustainable alternative mobility solution for the city:
Fast, simple and environmentally friendly.
Flight has never been so easy. Only a short induction is
required to operate the Volocopter. The reason: The latest
support systems and more than 100 microprocessors
automatically ensure perfect stability and control of the
multicopter. Whether it is altitude control, balance or landing,
the Volocopter 2X can easily and intuitively be operated by a
single joystick. Even if the pilot lets go of the joystick, the
multicopter will retain its prevailing position fully
automatically.
Dubai was serious when it said it wants to be first in the world
to offer a flying taxi service. The automated vehicle, which lifts
and lands vertically like a helicopter, whisked Dubai Crown
Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed away for a five-minute
flight 200 meters above a patch of sand.
Volocopter will eventually be fully autonomous, avoiding
obstacles and other flying taxis without a pilot— onboard or
remote— guiding it.
Passengers will hail these battery-powered sky taxis via a
smartphone app like Uber’s and wait for them to swoop down
at local “voloports.” If all goes according to plan, Dubai and
Volocopter envision these 18-rotor sky cabs being available
for regular passenger service within the next five years.
Some outstanding features of the Volocopter 2X model are:
• Supreme safety: There are numerous support systems
for flight control and stabilization. Also on board,
although you will never require it, is an emergency
parachute.
• Especially quiet: In contrast, a helicopter is numerous
times louder with its main and tail rotors as well as its
turbine.
• So simple: The latest support systems and more than
100 microprocessors automatically ensure perfect
stability and control of the multicopter.
• Cost effective: Fuel is replaced by economic (and
increasingly sustainably generated) electricity. On
top of this, requirements for maintenance, repair and
overhaul are reduced to a minimum through the
avoidance of complex mechanical components.
• A reality today: The Volocopter is the world’s first
multicopter to be granted a certification for manned
flights. It fulfils stringent German and international
safety standards.
The need for individual mobility will continue to rise in the
future. Traffic congestion, emissions and extremely high costs
for infrastructure are already pushing cities to their limits.
Social challenges of this magnitude require a new perspective
at times. The purpose is to make every human being’s dream
of flying come true and help modern cities resolve increasing
mobility issues.
 REFERENCES
[1] REINVENTING URBAN MOBILITY. (2017). Retrieved February 8,
2018, from www.volocopter.com
[2] IEEE SPECTRUM. For the technology insider | 12.17.