Dubai starts tests in bid to become first city with flying taxis

DUBAI, UAE — Dubai staged a test flight on Monday for what it said would soon be the world’s first drone taxi service under an ambitious plan by the United Arab Emirates city to lead the Arab world in innovation.

The flying taxi developed by German drone firm Volocopter resembles a small, two-seater helicopter cabin topped by a wide hoop studded with 18 propellers.

It was unmanned for its maiden test run in a ceremony arranged for Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.

Meant to fly without remote control guidance and with a maximum flight duration of 30 minutes, it comes with plenty of fail-safes in case of trouble: back-up batteries, rotors and, for a worst case scenario, a couple of parachutes.

Volocopter is in a race with more than a dozen well-funded European and U.S. firms, each with its own science fiction-inspired vision for creating a new form of urban transport that is a cross between a driverless electric car and a short-haul, vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

These include aerospace giant Airbus, which aims to put a self-piloting taxi in the air by 2020; Kitty Hawk, a company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page; and Uber, which is working with partners on its own flying taxi strategy.

“Implementation would see you using your smartphone, having an app, and ordering a Volocopter to the next voloport near you. The volocopter would come and autonomously pick you up and take you to your destination,” CEO Florian Reuter said.

“It already is capable of flying based on GPS tracks today, and we will implement full sense capability, also dealing with unknown obstacles on the way,” he added, saying developers aimed to initiate the taxis within five years.

In Monday’s test flight, the device hovered upward about 200 meters and whirred for about five minutes over a windswept patch of sand astride the emirate’s Gulf coast.

Attired in crisp white robes and headdresses, Sheikh Hamdan and his entourage clapped approvingly from a nearby viewing deck as the craft alighted.

The UAE has sought to distinguish itself in a region mired in war and strife as a high-tech, forward-looking society.

It plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021, the Arab world’s first mission to space, and Dubai has in many ways led their showy march into the future by introducing the region’s first driverless metro and robot policemen prototypes.

“Encouraging innovation and adopting the latest technologies contributes not only to the country‘s development but also builds bridges into the future,” Sheikh Hamdan said in a statement.

source: interaksyon.com

Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. in Dubai to open golf club

DUBAI — Two of US President Donald Trump's sons arrived in the United Arab Emirates for an invitation-only ceremony yesterday to formally open the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai.

Photographs shared on social media by real estate brokers showed Eric and Donald Jr. attending a private luncheon yesterday afternoon in Dubai with Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire who runs DAMAC Properties, the developer that partnered with Trump on the golf course.

Trump's two sons gave brief remarks and met with over 80 people gathered at the event, attendee Niraj Masand told The Associated Press.

They were "expressing their gratitude to Mr. Sajwani, who is the chairman of DAMAC, and sort of expressing their happiness to meet with all the partners," said Masand, a director of the real estate firm Banke International.


Both sons are scheduled to attend a gala at the golf course yesterday night, which sits inside a larger villa and apartment building project called DAMAC Hills on the outskirts of Dubai. Some 100 Trump-branded villas also are on the property, selling from 5 million dirhams ($1.3 million) to over 15 million dirhams ($4 million).

Eric and Donald Jr., who now run the Trump Organization, receive Secret Service protection as immediate family members of the president.


It's unclear what additional security protection the two sons will receive while in Dubai as experts already have warned the Trump brand abroad now faces a global terror risk .

The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi has declined to comment about the trip, while Dubai police did not respond to a request for comment.

However, the United Arab Emirates, a staunch US ally in the war against the Islamic State group and host to some 5,000 American military personnel, remains a peaceful corner of the Middle East. Its hereditary rulers hope to see a harder line from America on Iran and its foreign minister even backed Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority nations earlier this month.

The ceremony in Dubai, home to the world's tallest building and other architectural marvels, marks the first major event abroad that the two Trump sons will attend together since their father's inauguration Jan. 20.

Ties between Trump and Sajwani remain strong. One of the Trump Organization's subsidiaries received from $1 million to $5 million from DAMAC for running the golf club, according to a US Federal Election Committee report submitted in May.

Sajwani and his family also attended a New Year's Eve celebration at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where Trump referred to them as "the most beautiful people from Dubai."

Trump days later told journalists that DAMAC had offered the Trump Organization $2 billion in deals after his election, something DAMAC later confirmed.

The Dubai golf course marks Trump's first successful venture in the Arab world. Another Trump-managed golf course is planned for another even larger DAMAC project under development and the developer has been putting up billboards around Dubai advertising the newly opened course.

The 18-hole course has raised questions about how the Trump Organization's many international business interests will affect the administration of America's 45th president.

Already, a liberal-funded watchdog group has filed a lawsuit alleging his business violates the so-called emolument act of the US Constitution. Similar questions have been raised by legal experts over Trump's Dubai course.

Trips abroad by Trump's two sons are expected to continue. Before Trump's inauguration, his son Eric visited the Trump Tower Punta del Este in Uruguay to check on the tower's progress and personally greet buyers. A Trump hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, is also expected to soon host Trump's sons.

source: philstar.com

Sophie Albert, Vin Abrenica charm Pinoy fans in Dubai

Fresh from their win as “Artista Academy” Best Actress and Best Actor Sophie Albert and Vin Abrenica flew to Dubai to entertain Filipino fans last December 1 during the annual Bayanihan Festival held at the famed Zabeel Park, one of the largest and most modern outdoor parks in Dubai.

TV5 International and its partner Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) were among this year’s sponsors of the annual Filipino get-together.

The young couple—now known as SoVin to their fans—were thrilled to be part of this exciting event. It was their first international trip together since their big win. “Sobrang excited po talaga [kasi] makikita na namin yung mga Kapatid natin sa Dubai,” Sophie revealed. “Tapos siyempre first time po namin magkakasama ni Vin together.”

Sophie and Vin weren’t the only artists present during the event. Dingdong Avanzado, Jessa Zaragoza, and Jon Santos were also there to entertain our kababayans. The Kapatid stars and their guests braved the rare Dubai rain to entertain the Pinoys at the event.

Dingdong serenaded the audience with an a capella version of his hit song “Basta’t Kasama Kita,” while wife Jessa sang her ever-famous “Bakit Pa”. Veteran comedian Jon Santos provided the laughs with his hilarious stand-up comedy routine.

That same evening, another show was held at the Boracay Club of Asiana Hotel. Vin performed “Hinahanap Hanap Kita” with the hotel band and Sophie got everyone dancing with her rousing performance of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” The “Artista Academy” couple shared the stage as they joined the crowd in dancing “Oppa Gangnam Style”.




During their downtime, Vin and Sophie had the chance to go around Dubai and visit iconic landmarks like the Burj Al Arab and the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa. It was indeed a memorable trip not only for Sophie and Vin but also for the Filipinos who shared their time with them.

TV5’s international channels Kapatid TV5 and Aksyon TV International are available in the Middle East and Europe via OSN.

source: interaksyon.com