THE FUTURE IS NOW, AS DUBAI POLICE INTRODUCE REAL-LIFE HOVERBIKE FOR POLICE USE
The reboot of Star Trek’s feature films included an origin story for James T. Kirk as a child fleeing a traffic cop, who was pursuing in a hoverbike. Millennials wouldn’t likely know about the hoverbikes from the original Battlestar Galactica series, but are a fair comparison as well. Soon, this futuristic vehicle will become a thing of the present in Dubai, which plans on intruding them shortly, according to AutoBlog. The Dubai Police unveiled the new hoverbikes at the Gulf Information Technology Exposition last week, alongside the Russian company Hoversurf.
THE SCORPION WILL FLY 16 FEET HIGH, CHANGING POLICE TACTICS AND PURSUITS FOREVER
According to Autoblog, the announced hoverbike, the Scorpion, will be able to fly 16 feet in the air and will move at speeds of 43 miles per hour while carrying 660 pounds of both flier and gear. This will enable it to bypass roads filled with traffic, though the Scorpion is severely limited with a 25-minute charge so far. The four blades that make it a flyer also look extremely treacherous to any passersby who might come into contact.
The police force intends to use the hoverbikes as tools for officers to bypass traffic and other obstacles during emergencies, though the United Arab Emirates has a notoriously poor human rights record, so authorities there may put them to somewhat less agreeable purposes.
Read More:
WWII Blockbuster Bomb Defused in Frankfurt, 65,000 People Evacuated
DUBAI BEATS U.S., REST OF WORLD WITH NEW FUNCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
The US military, as well as various specialty shops and hobbyists, have had varying degrees of success working on their own hoverbikes. Most of them look alarmingly unsafe, but hey—as the saying goes, you can’t make a hoverbike without amputating a few limbs.
CNN reported that the hoverbikes were announced alongside a new electric motorcycle concept by Japanese company Mikasa, which was touted as having a 124 mph (200 km/h) top speed. According to ABC, Dubai authorities are also planning on rolling out small, driverless vehicles for surveillance in urban areas.
