Test flights of a driverless hover-taxi are to take place in Singapore next year, a German aviation firm said, the latest innovation to offer an escape from Asia’s monster traffic jams.
Millions of commuters in the region’s cities have to contend with chronic gridlock every day, sparking a race to develop new ways to avoid the snarl-ups.
While the developed city-state of Singapore does not suffer major congestion, it is seen as a perfect test bed for new technologies due to its compact size and openness to innovation.
Photo: AFP
German firm Volocopter on Tuesday said that it would conduct the test flights in Singapore in the second half of next year with the support of the government.
Resembling a helicopter, Volocopter’s electric air taxis take off and land vertically.
They are based on drone technology and can fly two people for about 30km, the firm said in a statement.
The Singapore tests follow a public demonstration in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last year.
“The Volocopter is designed specifically for inner city missions,” Volocopter said in the statement, adding that it can withstand minor turbulence around skyscrapers, allowing for smooth rides.
“It is so quiet that at a flight height of 100m, it cannot be heard over the typical background noise of a city,” the company said.
A company spokeswoman said the Volocopter can be controlled by a pilot using a joystick or remotely from the ground.
Apart from the test flights, Volocopter would also set up a product design and engineering center in Singapore to support its expansion plans.
Volocopter said it is getting ready to roll out their first fixed routes in cities.
The hover-taxis are to complement helicopter-hailing services that are already taking off in some cities to beat traffic jams.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last