Singapore will have moved one step closer into a movie like future when air taxi trials are set to take off in the second half of this year. German company Volocopter will be tasked to run the tests, which they themselves announced at the Autonomy and the Urban Mobility Summit in Paris back in October 2018.
The air taxis, to be called Volocopters, are electrically powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically, and can fly 2 people at a distance of 30km or less. The Volocopters can also be flown either by a pilot using a joystick, or controlled fully form the ground. The craft looks like helicopters, but they are based on drone technology. The tests are used t determine if the Volocopters can operate in Singapore's urban environment. The MOT, EDB and CAAS are all part of the project.
The tests are to be conducted to see if the air taxi are suitable in Singapore's environment, and to also test out locations where this service is practical. The tests are to be conducted in a controlled location, which MOT said it will announce in due course. Now, all we have to do is to wait to see if air taxis can really take off in Singapore.
