A drone taxi that can be used by humans flew over Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport started a pilot operation of a drone taxi for the first time in Korea in Yeouido, Seoul on the 11th.
The drone propellers start moving quickly, and soon a huge aircraft flies into the air. This is a two-person drone taxi.
It was developed by a Chinese drone manufacturer, with a loading weight of 220 kilograms, a height of 1.77 m, a maximum speed of 130 km/h, and a maximum altitude of 3,000 m.
In today's pilot operation, the drone taxi flew 1.8 kilometers between Hangang Park and Mapo Bridge in Yeouido, Seoul for 5 minutes.
As this was the first demonstration, 80 kilograms of rice were loaded instead of people for safety.
Domestic companies such as Hyundai and Hanwha introduced drone taxi models under development.
Drone taxis use multiple rotating wings to ensure safety and lower noise than conventional helicopters. In addition, there is no carbon emission by using electric power.
Drone taxis are drawing attention as a solution to large cities suffering from chronic traffic congestion.
The city of Seoul and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are aiming to commercialize drone taxis and couriers in 2025. However, there are tasks to increase the safety of drone operation and to establish a legal system in the area of urban air traffic.
Will 2025 really come to commute on the sky road? Let’s watch the video of the pilot flight today.
(Composition: Eul-sun Cho, editor: Seung-yeon Park)