Earlier this month in the Russian capital, air mobility startup Hoversurf started testing its Hover drone taxi, a flying vehicle that can transport passengers and cargo, ‘Popular Mechanics’ magazine reports.
The drone taxi is the size of a standard sedan car (5 m x 1.6 m), says TASS news agency, citing the press service of the Moscow city Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development.
The engine can reach an altitude of 150 meters and cover a distance of up to 100 kilometers in one go. The drone taxi does not require the construction of special runways, as it can land on an ordinary parking lot and is also capable of maneuvering onto a parking lot and flying into a garage. It will be able to carry two people or up to 300 kilograms of cargo and to develop a speed of up to 200 km/h (124 mph).
The drone taxi is currently being tested at an indoor arena of the Luzhniki Stadium. For the time being, the prototype is testing the ‘Lift & Cruise’ flight mode, whereby the take-off, landing and horizontal flight are taken care of by different groups of engines and is trialling a parachute system to be used in emergencies.
Defining itself as an “urban air mobility technology company,” Hoversurf develops what can be described as futuristic electric-powered vessels or human-carrying drones.
Hoversurf founder Alex Atamanov began developing the drone taxi in 2018. In addition to this project, Hoversurf has developed a hoverbike, which has been criticized for its “security loopholes.”
Among the company’s investors are Russian businessman and philanthropist Ismail Akhmetov, Qiwi co-founder Sergey Solonin, the Starta Ventures fund and several Russian individual investors.
The company was reported to be valued at $30 million in its latest round of funding in late 2020.
