Dubai residents will be able to ride in flying drone taxis by July

Residents of gridlocked Dubai won't need to worry about getting stuck in traffic for much longer, said Jon Gambrell at the Associated Press. The Emirati city says that by July, self-piloted taxi drones should be flying above its car-clogged streets. Using an app, people will be able to hail a Chinese-made EHang 184 drone, an egg-shaped craft with four propeller-bearing wings. It can carry one passenger and a small suitcase, together weighing up to 220 pounds.

(Courtesy image)

"After buckling into its race car–style seat, the passenger selects a destination on a touch-screen pad in front of the seat and the drone flies there automatically." The EHang 184, which can stay in the air for up to 30 minutes and has a range of up to 31 miles, "will be monitored remotely by a control room on the ground."