Volocopter air taxi flies over Singapore's Marina Bay

Volocopter's flying air taxi made a brief flight over Singapore's Marina Bay on Tuesday (Oct 22). Its first flights here are made with a pilot on board - the firm's CEO acknowledged it's "too much to ask" from regulators and the public to accept unmanned aircraft straightaway. Read more: cna.asia/2p3Cw3F
(Video: Marcus Mark Ramos and Try Sutrisno Foo)
#flyingcar #singapore #airtaxi
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[@texanmartin]

This is the future. Early skepticism of course, just like when people were trying to invent the car, plane, and get humans to the moon. We did it.

[@sharisamsudin]

Soon we will be flying like the Jetsons 😂😂😂

[@SportsIncorporated]

It's a helicopter with more blades. Call us back when it's quiet.

[@hansturpyn5455]

And safe

[@fratgunduz2462]

Nope. It is electric and also will provide an autonomous mode

[@ngroy8636]

I'd imagined more blades, less spin and electric engine would make it much quitter than regular helicopter. Well- guess the technology isn't there yet. Yea.. come back when it's quiet.

[@818pang]

Can fly to Jb to avoid causeway jam?

[@yurisabrori]

Flying procedure make it slower for short commuter. Flying is best for long-medium commuter, because it can shortcut any traffic

[@yurisabrori]

@looes74 looes74 it needs some Operating System with AI, so it will start faster. If it still use regular pilot it will have some procedure to do before flight and it will make it slower

[@kobadaa.952]

They’ll have guards in drones at checkpoints in JB 3 years from now

[@andylee9367]

marina bay seems to be the testing grounds for inventors who want to try out their stuff...

[@lynn151haj]

How long does the battery lasts before it needs recharging?

[@mincetoiletpaper]

Would like to know how big or max wind gust can it withstand

[@perhance2227]

Im sorry

[@ShawnKoh]

Wow...so silent almost like a Tesla

[@dayylogg9716]

This Volocopter is very suitable for military use with the land force and navy.

[@ChinRubbingVideos]

is malaysia's flying car still a 1:35 scale model?

[@ghrbaa6727]

Asia-cidents, by year end, full scale prototype.

[@somerslim25]

proud for singapore

[@wiewen6427]

Its made in china

[@xcre8ionx]

True Singapore is the best

[@fabriciogarcia6084]

​@@wiewen6427No, the Volocopter Is: Made in Germany

[@ramlangoddos4425]

How far can it fly on a single charge?

[@shahanyusof7522]

Does it come with parachutes?

[@laurencelim5078]

Still don't have enough passenger carrying capacity to make it economical to operate..How much for a trip to Johore Bahru..

[@harungulluoglu1900]

Amazing nice tecnology

[@genoskwa3725]

I wonder if this will fly on windy days or bad weather like heavy rains. It's still on it's testing stage.

[@ApoNiApoTu]

U know what is R&D??

[@SuccessforLifester]

Amazing. I thought it was a conceptual prototype

[@ghrbaa6727]

Sean, no difference with conventional helicopter other than this one is electrified. Either way, both are VTOL vehicles and super loud. The other exception is helicopters are established and proven technology. As you can see in the test flight, this “volocopter” is not even autonomous. Might as well automate existing single seater helicopters.

[@generalgrievous6689]

@@ghrbaa6727 Wouldn't this be a better solution in the long run, since it is electric?

[@Tommy900100]

Di Malaysia, they laugh when the gov initiate flying cars

[@knock-knockwhosthere9933]

Different level of mentality and maturity.

[@ismailnyeyusof3520]

TJR, that’s because even the PM is not confident about it.

[@leehyunsong7001]

People laugh because talk only no action

[@haqrahim]

msia....haha..what a joke...dream on PH govt...ur country is in economic crisis

[@engineerkhairul6567]

@@ismailnyeyusof3520 we engineer confident. Those stupid racist politician and mat rempit who dont believe it actually can be build.

[@hullopillow4853]

Is that Geely's ?

[@superconnie5003]

If one engine fails the other's still work right?

[@dapdap8781]

Ya. Fire engine 🙊

[@tcruise77]

Yes. technically it is failsafe...

[@WillEDC]

I assume they are individually powered. If I remember correctly it’s electric. But image a wedding where everyone let’s go of a bunch of balloons with strings. Will a simple string tangle the rotor ?

[@RAM-km8bx]

Yeah that's why it's designed in that way 18 roters and 10 needed to stay in the air So no issue

[@superconnie5003]

@@RAM-km8bx One batt supplying those 18 motors?...errr redundancy?

[@ichaefendychannel]

Great😃❤

[@Flimshots984]

Will there be flying deloren

[@iwrotethis4712]

0:38 only thinkpads are used this purposes. Even in space. That's why in have one

[@Numberonesorabjifan]

steeve steeve yep. Thinkpads are the best.

[@jeidun]

steeve steeve but the teachers dont know how to use 😂😂

[@adrenfu6238]

battery or hydro cell?

[@ghrbaa6727]

No difference with conventional helicopter other than this one is electrified. Either way, both are VTOL vehicles and super loud. The other exception is helicopters are established and proven technology. As you can see in the test flight, this “volocopter” is not even autonomous. Might as well automate existing single seater helicopters.

[@theamflitebowler]

Looks like a drone!

[@sivaralv2628]

Shall i but one like this for my daily trip to my job and home. No traffic☺

[@namelesswarrior4760]

The Jetsons are in town! No difference to a acyual helicopter with the noise!

[@homesweetshanghai8127]

I don't think it will take off, mind the pun.

[@KoenBroumels]

what would be the 83/84/85/86/87/88/89 at 2:45

[@makerturk8000]

It would make sense if it was the heading of the aircraft but it doesn't seem to be. Maybe it is the temperature of the batteries or motors or a critical system...

[@KoenBroumels]

Maker Türk my thoughts too..

[@jeidun]

I'd rather LTA make more bicycle lanes than allow this, because cycling is literally the most eco friendly way of transport. More people use a square meter of space on a bicycle than this thing

[@user-vc6hv6gg7g]

Good luck with long distance travel :)

[@bigbrainbighartbighandbigp4605]

yes singapur is smoll

[@WillEDC]

Agreed. Bicycle and pmd lane. Then more people will adopt both. Very green and safer for all

[@jeidun]

23143 4803 if it's smooth sailing, its no problem. 2 hours from my area to mbs, no problem. If its a direct route, it should take an hour at most

[@cheririririrk]

shall there be flying people too in the future? i hope thy sell person wings bc i want to fly like helikopter

[@sataka2546]

Strong winds and you are bye bye

[@mcdonaldsburntchickennugge8231]

SATAKA thats not how it works mate

[@hyouzanren1846]

Basicly replace one big blades with more smaller bladeswith the same oil base copters!..... Nothing to see here! 😑😑😑

[@Tom-cf5lk]

It just looks like a mini helicopter only ..

[@pangdanny2018]

Means shall open up new jobs for helicopter pilots after retirement?

[@DailyEthereal]

Just 1 and make this much noise?

[@SimonChngHP]

How much per Trip ?

[@ginyamaguchi1421]

If u need to ask, u can't afford it

[@knock-knockwhosthere9933]

@@ginyamaguchi1421 ... There's ntg wrong being a smart consumer.

[@religionofpeace304]

basically reinventing the helicopter

[@bobdylan9117]

only battery powered

[@arseniirudenko7485]

Is it capable of autorotation? Because it is less safe than conventional helicopter if it isn't

[@martinw245]

It has considerable redundancy. It can lose several rotors and motors and still float down to safety.

[@arseniirudenko7485]

@@martinw245 fair point, but wouldn't the power system be the single point of failure still? Like, if battery becomes disconnected - you are loosing all the motors at the same time. Unless each motor is powered individually

[@martinw245]

@@arseniirudenko7485 "wouldn't the power system be the single point of failure still? Like, if battery becomes disconnected - you are loosing all the motors at the same time. Unless each motor is powered individually" I would imagine it's not too difficult to run power form groups of cells. Redundant systems include the motors, rotors, batteries, avionics, etc. Fly By Lioght apparently. www.volocopter.com/en/product/

[@yeecheekeong9210]

need law to regulate air traffic. public lisbility etc

[@_______.____._______]

Too many laws!!!! " Stoooooop

[@lionkingray]

If break down in mid air??? Wouldn't it too affect the innocence on the ground too??? Mmm...

[@user-xq2fz5tz9t]

When I was a young boy (1942), everyone living near airports feared that airplanes will fall like flies all over their neighborhoods. So yes, there are risks associated to every new transportation method. Even cars on its early days were seen as 2 tonnes killing machine on wheels (to this day - they still are though). Therefore safety regulations, tech advancements, air licenses/tighter controls, better gyros, higher reliability of parts, etc will play a big part of integrating newer and better transportation methods. The way I see it, the helicopter seen here is a good baby step forward - albeit still in its infancy. ...moreover, I've waited nearly 8 decades for flying cars now hahahaha 😁😁😁

[@jerry8053]

Rip Uber and Grab

[@FBIINFORMANT]

That will be [insert taxi fare], sir.

[@username-hm1kw]

Probably gonna be $1999 from Tampines To Simei

[@superconnie5003]

Where is everybody?

[@choogengnian2799]

nobody interested! paid to get into national tv!

[@milkybar06]

Very interesting

[@dxmxo9427]

That helicopter had too many propeller blades and takes too much space...they need to invent another hhahahah

[@desx2279]

I though this will be heli&auto combo. Somehow disappointed , it’s just a mini heli, flying skills & license will be required!

[@jellypolly100]

I think Indonesia need this product....

[@Irishlad92]

What about hijackers?

[@jiekangtoh]

rich man's toy

[@herryxujr.133]

2019 macet di jalan raya 2029 macet di atas jalan raya 😪

[@kodokojol]

In singapore they already tested flying cars..but in malaysia, they laughed off when flying car project announced..negative malaysians

[@christwg07]

This is for the ministers, CEOs and the rich to take. Poor people travel on land.

[@becomingfr33]

Cars were just for the rich to begin with, so were planes. This might become accessible to the middle class but I hope not because the noise pollution is awful

[@lionking8844]

Don't you need some sort of pilot license?

[@terrabiker]

Not if they will get permission as autonomous driving vehicle

[@yohan6973]

I've seen one similar to this called a helicopter.

[@The_Hysterical_16]

I live in Singapore

[@AriVovp]

Try 20 at a time and measure the decibel

[@mlxnrzhr]

Theres really is no real world application for this... Why are people building stuff to solve things we dont need..

[@martinw245]

Err.... it's been developed as a short range air taxi. They have orders.

[@mlxnrzhr]

@@martinw245 where can you fly in 15 minutes 13km??..

[@martinw245]

@@mlxnrzhr Its actually a 35 kilometre range and designed as an air taxi for the inner city. www.volocopter.com/en/product/ A number of air taxis are in development actually. For example... www.intelligent-aerospace.com/unmanned/article/14069415/vertical-aerospace-flies-electric-air-taxi-capable-of-carrying-250kg www.theverge.com/2019/10/22/20925606/lilium-electric-air-taxi-flying-new-test-video

[@flybeep1661]

[sarcasm]Now imagine a few dozen of these to perhaps a few hundred in the air....GREAT[/sarcasm] Useless for long distances, irrelevant for short distances, probably just something for tourists to try or rich people. Not an everyday commuter thing.

[@pngmick]

A vehicle for the rich and privileged.

[@ordinaryobserver897]

Too noisy. How are the offices going to work with constant noises or people going to rest and in a prime land area? How much testing has this gone through? Remember what happened to driverless taxis. We dont need this in sg. Please solve the PMD issue first.

[@djtan3313]

Sg already hv d best public transport sys in d world. Why they need this?! Come to KL, Manila ...

[@wudemaya]

I don't see any room for passengers.

[@Odinic]

Not a bad idea if it is autonomous. However, we need to make sure it is not remotely hackable or else it will be like having mini mobile missiles waiting to happen (we have quite a few cyber security issues so far). The govt will have to increase our air space security and have measures in place to prevent home-made explosives being planted in them as they will be flying around the CBD area (would not want another incident of 9/11 repeating itself). Overall, I think it will be a good addition to our mode of transport if the fares are low enough and might even help to ease road traffic conditions. But all these are in the future... much to be done. Hopefully policies are in place before any green light is given, if not we might have similar issues such as the current PMD cases. Cheers!

[@ghrbaa6727]

Might as well electrify the already established technology of single seater helicopter widely used in Australian agriculture. Why brand this thing as new technology when helis are also VTOL? It’s not even autonomous, it’s a freaking helicopter. Elon Musk was right about VTOL.

[@jont2576]

And they said no drones allowed.

[@mincetoiletpaper]

People already test flying their flying cars while we Malaysia were just showing a piece of drone toy.

[@WRXMSK]

This is unfortunately a technological dead end without a breakthrough in the field of power sources, i.e accumulating enough energy in lightweight batteries. Sufficient energy density of batteries is the key to commercial use of air taxis and other electric transport, like Tesla.

[@martinw245]

Not true. There are orders. It's a short range air taxi.

[@WRXMSK]

@@martinw245 We'll talk about it after a couple of years. Time will tell. But honestly, I DOUBT that is will be useful even as a short range air taxi. A couple of flights 1-5km and then several hours of charging? And how much it's supposed to pay for such a ride? Hundreds of dollars? Just try to figure out the economy of such a taxi and you will see it all yourself.

[@martinw245]

@@WRXMSK Nope... 35 kilometre range. Not sure about this air taxi, but some of them have slide out battery packs. You land, slide in a new pack and fly. It's not several hours of charging, we can fast charge in 20 minutes now. And of course we have solid state batteries almost here, offering double the energy density and lighter weight. Incidentally, Eviation's Alice, can carry 20 people and has a range of 1000 kilometres.

[@antjetautkus5506]

👍❤🌏super!

[@bigbrainbighartbighandbigp4605]

copter wiith lot of blade

[@syedhammet68]

Msia's VX-4 is much more better. This one looks like my 1st RM150 drone.

[@doraemxn1037]

Ha.. this are batteries operated? UL 2272 ? Will these kill more ppl.

[@ongernie7216]

Kita punyah FLYING CAR.

[@gvaanang]

Star war stuff

[@finalcurtain6199]

I want to sleep and wake 100years I'm fedup of too slow Technology development

[@mylesfleming5208]

Too noisy. Imagine 100 of them flying overhead

[@Joeyloveable]

Very clumsy maneuver and design.

[@fredis3347]

quite loud

[@tayspiderx]

Err noise pollution anyone?

[@jameshue55]

Malaysia is not ready yet unless they change their 'why fix it unless it is broken' culture.

[@eyhtwozed2606]

You cant fly this thing on wet weather

[@arwanasuperred1321]

Very noisy, don't you think?

[@vaibhavkapse4387]

I think it could not be comfortable

[@seng628]

Drone sg drive ? Robot drone Pm I go passage !

[@superconnie5003]

"show the world the taxi " there were only 8 people there

[@demlinnalo2030]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@TUHANbukanorangARAB]

KAMIKAZE...

[@jameshue55]

No big deal..James Bond flew a more versatile machine in 1967 'You only live twice'

[@Studentofgosset]

No he didn't

[@sgsun7582]

SCDF can concider to use some for modifying to a standard embulance as emergency co - embulance.

[@NookTommy]

Its not safe. Can intrude the privacy of those in buildings. And its noisy too

[@vincentivantanaya5115]

why are ppl so excited over this shit, its just an over-glorified chopper with 12 rotors instead of one nothing special

[@tango8242]

Oops...

[@raymond2704]

For crazy Rich Asians ?

[@TheRicokilla]

The near future is going to get real noisy

[@vijaykumardilor5187]

Shabash

[@Musica-Lyrix]

0 emissions wow cool and what about noise pollution? lmao

[@DasBoSchittGaming95]

Grabflight coming soon. 2029.

[@ongernie7216]

Alamak! Malaysia pun ada. Singapore copy kita idea.

[@xcre8ionx]

This also Malaysia want to claim aiyo

[@rudytruly2669]

Should press dyson to come up with some thing better. Cancel Dyson blue identity card

[@rudytruly2669]

@looes74 looes74 well too! We will make the best of everything in Indonesia. Dyson fooled EDB

[@rudytruly2669]

@looes74 looes74 have you seen the map of Asia?

[@rudytruly2669]

@looes74 looes74 when did I became your friend

[@rudytruly2669]

@looes74 looes74 Dyson really bull Singapore and bag the most expansive penthouse and expansive landed property with his electric car. He should build the plant first then allow him to buy bungalow.