Photo: Hoversurf
Ever since the United Arab Emirates has become one of the planet's poles of wealth, its largest city, Dubai, has become a magnet for high-tech companies wanting to test their technologies in real life conditions.
That happens partly because the people there, including (or especially) government structures like the police, are suckers for new and shiny things that were never tried elsewhere before. Case in point, a Volocopter flying taxi drone or the BMW Hyperloop capsule.
The Dubai police also likes to have a shiny image, so it habitually uses extreme sports cars the likes of Aston Martin One-77, Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Aventador or Ferrari FF.
Last year, the Dubai police also got delivery of some type of flying bikes. Manufactured by a Russian-led, California-based company called Hoversurf, the bikes are currently being used in Dubai for training purposes to accustom police officers with their operation.
According to CNN, citing Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, the general director of Dubai Police's artificial intelligence department – yes, they have such a thing in the police force - the hoverbikes will probably be used for first responder purposes, not necessarily to chase down bad guys.
"Currently we have two crews already training, and we're increasing the number," the official was quoted as saying by the source.
The hoverbikes used in Dubai, called S3, are in fact vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) machines that look somewhat like the speeder bikes of the Star Wars Stormtroopers.
Built with a carbon fiber body, the S3 uses 12.3 kWh batteries to power the four propellers located two at the front and two at the rear for up to 40 minutes in drone mode and 25 minutes with a pilot riding it.
Despite this reduced flight time and the long recharge time – 2.5 hours - Hoversurf is selling one S3 for $150,000. Production and delivery are expected to commence in 2019.
The Dubai police also likes to have a shiny image, so it habitually uses extreme sports cars the likes of Aston Martin One-77, Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Aventador or Ferrari FF.
Last year, the Dubai police also got delivery of some type of flying bikes. Manufactured by a Russian-led, California-based company called Hoversurf, the bikes are currently being used in Dubai for training purposes to accustom police officers with their operation.
According to CNN, citing Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, the general director of Dubai Police's artificial intelligence department – yes, they have such a thing in the police force - the hoverbikes will probably be used for first responder purposes, not necessarily to chase down bad guys.
"Currently we have two crews already training, and we're increasing the number," the official was quoted as saying by the source.
The hoverbikes used in Dubai, called S3, are in fact vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) machines that look somewhat like the speeder bikes of the Star Wars Stormtroopers.
Built with a carbon fiber body, the S3 uses 12.3 kWh batteries to power the four propellers located two at the front and two at the rear for up to 40 minutes in drone mode and 25 minutes with a pilot riding it.
Despite this reduced flight time and the long recharge time – 2.5 hours - Hoversurf is selling one S3 for $150,000. Production and delivery are expected to commence in 2019.
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