Childrens’ prayers have finally been answered—humans can fly. Dubai’s police force recently began training on hoverbikes, which can fly sixteen feet above the ground and use the same motors implemented in drones. According to BBC News, the Dubai police claims that it will help them reach places in the Dubai landscape that are hard to access with ground transport. As of now, neither the Dubai police nor the creators of the bike have disclosed much about the invention, but curiosity remains within the scientific world. Tech companies are eager to come up with their own version of the hoverbike. With other companies following Dubai’s footsteps, this new technology may soon change the world’s perspective on flight technology as we know it.
Dubai’s police started testing prototypes of the bike in October of 2017, but it was not a large success. The program was left untouched until November of 2018, when Dubai police resumed their training on the bikes. According to CNN, sources have claimed that imperfections in the bike caused fatal accidents, which is why the project was postponed. Additionally, without any improvements, the kinks in the mechanics of the bike could have been very dangerous to the officers and the population of Dubai if it was released to the general public. However, the bikes were purely a prototype at that time, and the creators had not tied the loose ends of the project. Now that the bike has been modified and improved, it may help the Dubai police reach people faster and easier—especially in rural areas.
In the past few years, technological advancements in Dubai have developed at a rapid rate, following the inventions of self-driving cars and android “officers”. However, this hoverbike, called Scorpion, was actually designed by a California-based Russian company called Hoversurf. The vehicle has four propellers, and it’s designed to have the rider extremely close to its blades. The Scorpion can travel up to forty miles per hour and can carry up to 600 pounds.
Dubai’s police hopes to use this cutting-edge technology to help the people of Dubai. Dubai’s deserts are very dense, and it is difficult for police to patrol in those areas. Police are often not able to find or save victims in the desert. With Scorpion, police will be able to reach victims faster and in areas that are not accessible by traditional modes of transportation. By 2020, the Dubai police believes that they will be able to use Scorpion as their main mode of transportation.
So far, according to Hoversurf CEO Alexander Atamanov, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Police Force and has been invited to open mass production of the vehicle. Scorpion was unveiled at a technology show alongside many other technological inventions. The reveal of the Scorpion has proved to the citizens of Dubai and the rest of the world that Dubai may be at the top of the line when it comes to technology.