car stuff

text? |? Six hairs

In recent years, the automobile and travel industries are welcoming wave after wave of new technological changes. New travel technologies such as intelligent electric vehicles, self-driving cars, even flying cars and super high-speed rail are constantly emerging, and the mode of transportation of human beings is about to undergo major changes.

on the surface, it seems that black technology travel modes such as autonomous driving and flying cars are still far from mass production applications. But in fact, the Middle East, represented by Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel and other countries, is trying to introduce these technologies into practical applications.

In December last year, Qatar, a Middle Eastern country, and Volkswagen Group signed a project called "Qatar Travel Project" (Project? Qatar? Mobility) cooperation agreement. By 222, Qatar will jointly deploy ID.BUZZ self-driving shuttle bus and high-tech bus produced by Scania in the country.

but in fact, this is not the first time that autonomous driving technology has been introduced in the middle east. At the end of 217, the self-driving patrol car OR-3 has joined the Dubai Police Force and started to perform patrol tasks.

domestic aircraft company yihang's flying cars have also made many test flights in the middle east, while virgin super high-speed rail and HTT, two active players in the field of super high-speed rail, have signed R&D and deployment agreements with middle east countries respectively.

As for the Dubai Police Force, which has never been short of money, it not only followed the trend and announced that it would incorporate Tesla's electric pickup truck Cybertruck into the fleet, but also considered using flying motorcycles to perform tasks early.

Israel, driven by companies such as Mobileye, has become a world-renowned research and development center for autonomous driving technology.

to some extent, no matter what kind of travel black technology, you can see them in the Middle East. The Middle East is also helping major companies around the world to verify their travel black technology with its extremely open attitude and rich capital reserves.

1. Autopilot into the Middle East? Unmanned car as a policeman

If there are plans to go to Qatar to watch the World Cup in 222, congratulations, and you will also have the opportunity to see the ID.BUZZ self-driving shuttle bus at work and the high-tech bus produced by Scania, the Volkswagen Group (although the "high-tech" level has not been specifically disclosed at present).

But in fact, before Qatar signed this agreement, the Middle East had already become attached to autonomous driving technology.

If all goes well, in 217, the self-driving car OR-3, a mini patrol car about the size of a children's toy car, from Singapore, has become a member of Dubai police.

1. Is the Volkswagen Autopilot Shuttle coming soon? The time is set for the 222 World Cup

▲ID.BUZZ concept car

In December p>219, Mansoor, CEO of QIA? AI-Mahmoud and Herbert Diss, CEO of Volkswagen Group (Herbert? Diess) signed a Project called "Qatar Travel Project" in Doha, Qatar. Qatar? Mobility) cooperation agreement.

According to the agreement, the Qatar Investment Authority will work with Volkswagen Group * * * to achieve the goal of integrating the self-driving fleet into the existing public transportation network in Doha, including a series of infrastructure needed for the operation of self-driving cars.

▲ CEO of Volkswagen Group signed a cooperation agreement with CEO of Qatar Investment Authority

They will deploy 35 self-driving electric cars ID.BUZZ, which will run on semi-fixed routes in Xiwan area, and each ID.BUZZ can pick up and drop off up four passengers at most.

In addition, 1 Scania buses equipped with high technology will provide shuttle service for more passengers.

These self-driving buses and buses will start the closed test next year, and the ride effect test will start as early as 221. By the end of 222, that is, during the World Cup, buses and buses will be put into use.

although the driving route of the ID.BUZZ self-driving shuttle bus has not been finalized, that is to say, it is not clear whether passengers can really experience this travel service when going to and from the World Cup venue, you can still look forward to it.

In fact, since the Qatar Investment Authority, as a global investment institution, is actually Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the landing of this self-driving project is officially supported.

according to official data, the origin of the Qatar Investment Authority can be traced back to the Supreme Committee of Qatar National Reserve Investment (Supreme? Council? for? the? investment? of? State? The establishment of Reserves).

In p>25, the Qatar Investment Authority was formally established, and it started its investment business in 26. Now, the main goal of the Qatar Investment Authority is to consider how to use the funds allocated to it by the government of the State of Qatar to "create long-term value for the country and future generations."

2. Does Dubai Police Force deploy self-driving patrol cars? There is also a drone as an assistant

▲OR-3 (source Engadget)

It is not the first time that autopilot technology has been introduced in the Middle East.

in p>217, Dubai police contacted OTSAW after learning about its O-R3 mini self-driving car through the media.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, about one month after the negotiation, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement.

▲OR-3

Dubai police asked Baoke Digital to order the self-driving car O-R3 produced by the company, which is a mini unmanned patrol car the size of a children's toy car.

OR-3 is based on 3D? SLAM's patented navigation technology has a 36 computer vision field and is equipped with a variety of sensors including high-definition cameras, which can capture, record and process a large amount of information.

▲ The video of OR-3 police car is introduced. Pay attention to its real-time alarm

More interestingly, this mini patrol car is also equipped with its own drone partner, which can identify intruders and then track their positions.

according to baoke digital, Dubai police hope to reduce the number of police patrolling the streets by 25% by 23, and seeking cooperation from baoke digital is one of the ways for Dubai police to achieve this goal.

According to the plan, OR-3 will start its patrol work in Dubai at the end of that year.

In addition, according to media reports, by the end of 22, the plan of Dubai police is to rent 1 OR-3s to patrol the streets of Dubai.

second, is the Dubai police force new? Will purchase Tesla Mars pickup truck

The former Dubai Police Force was famous for owning luxury cars, and the future Dubai Police Force is likely to become the most fashionable police force because of the acquisition of a Tesla Cybertruck.

I believe that people who have never dealt with the Dubai police or have never been to Dubai have also heard the legend about the Dubai police force circulating in the Jianghu:

Being a policeman in Dubai ≈ driving a luxury car.

▲ Lamborghini of Dubai police (source Gulf? News)

According to foreign media Motor? Biscuit reported that at present, there are at least 1 super sports cars in Dubai police convoy: Babos G7 and two Audi R8? V1, McLaren MP4? -12C, Nissan GT-R, Mercedes-Benz SLS? AMG, Bugatti Veyron, aston martin One-77, Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari FF, BMW i8.

▲ McLaren of Dubai police

▲ Bugatti Veyron of Dubai police

On the other hand, it has been said that most luxury cars in Dubai police motorcade mainly play the role of window dressing, because these owners are arranged to be used as patrol cars in tourist attractions. At the same time, Toyota Prado, Runner and other models are also common models in Dubai Police Force.

But "local tyrant" has really become synonymous with Dubai police, and now, Dubai police has become synonymous with "following the fashion".

on November 21st, 219, American time, Cybertruck, a Tesla electric pickup truck that has been planned for seven years, was officially unveiled in Los Angeles, USA.

although viewed from the outside, the Cybertruck without rearview mirror hardly reminds people of the traditional pickup truck model.

▲ Tesla Cybertruck will join the Dubai police team

But obviously, Dubai police don't mind these things.

Less than a week after Cyberruck was released, Dubai police posted a picture of Tesla electric pickup truck on Twitter, in which Cyberruck had "put on" the green uniform of Dubai police.

Dubai police major Abdullah? Khalifa? Al? Marri? Accepting Arabian? In an interview with Business, it was revealed that Tesla electric pickup trucks will be used as patrol cars in areas with many tourists in the future.

third, genius is the big goal? Flying cars/motorcycles have been tested many times

Flying motorcycles and flying cars are typical representatives of automobile black technology. At present, this way of air travel is not only facing great controversy, but also in the stage of demonstration from the perspective of technology itself.

but even so, whether it's a flying motorcycle or a flying car, Dubai's decision is still: everyone comes.

1. The first batch of flying motorcycles have been delivered to Dubai police

According to CNN, with an agreement signed in 217, California startup Hoversurf has delivered the first batch of flying motorcycles S3? 219? Hoverbike。

At that time, Brigadier, Director General of AI Department of Dubai Police? Khalid? Nasser? Alrazooqi once described such vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) as the first unit to arrive in difficult areas, and he said that he would plan to put these flying motorcycles into use in 22.

▲ Flying motorcycle that was tested in Dubai (source CNN)

However, in the eyes of some people, the technology of flying motorcycle is not mature enough.

foreign media Drone? Chris, the author of DJ? Monti thinks that flying motorcycle is a terrible idea in itself.

Chris? Monti said that although the production version of the flying motorcycle is 1% quieter than the prototype, its sound is still very loud, and the flying motorcycle will also roll up objects on the ground when it takes off.

in addition, the maximum speed of Hoverbike is about 96 km/h, compared with that of Lamborghini Aventador? Compared with SVJ's top speed of 351 km/h, it is nothing to mention.

Tim, editor-in-chief of the magazine Aerospace? Robinson once expressed a similar view that this kind of electric flying motorcycle with vertical take-off and landing design will be limited by current battery technology in flight time.

In this regard, Dubai police and Hoversurf, which provides flying motorcycles, have said that they are overcoming these difficulties by developing battery technology or more effective propulsion systems.

But in any case, if one day we can see police officers driving flying motorcycles on duty, it will be exciting.

2. Yihang's flying car has completed many test flights in the Middle East

In p>214, Sheikh, Chief of Dubai Emirates? Mohammed launched a project aimed at transforming Dubai into a "Smart city" (smart? City) plan, Dubai's exploration in the direction of smart transportation and smart travel has also started.

Now, flying cars, which sounds more like an automobile technology that will really land in the future, have also found room for growth in Dubai.

The flying car Yihang 184, a domestic self-driving aircraft company, caused quite a stir at the CES show in 216, but at the same time, Yihang 184 also encountered many doubts from the industry.

In this case, Dubai offered an olive branch to Yihang 184.

In p>217, Yihang Intelligent participated in the 5th World Government Summit held in Dubai, and then announced that it had established a partnership with Dubai Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) during the meeting.

The two sides plan to work together to integrate the flying car Yihang 184 into Dubai's smart city transportation system.

at that time, according to Mattar? AI? According to Tayer, Yihang 184 has conducted several test flights at the airport designated by Dubai Civil Aviation Administration, and completed a number of adaptive aviation flight test projects.

▲ Yihang 184 test flight

However, at present, this plan seems to have come to a standstill.

meanwhile, the german flying car company Volocopter signed an agreement with the Dubai road and traffic administration (RTA) in June 217.

The two sides decided to conduct regular testing of flying taxis in Dubai Emirates. According to the plan, the test will start in the fourth quarter of 217, and the test plan is expected to run for five years.

on the other hand, on September 28th, 219, during the 5G summit jointly organized by Qatar Telecom and Huawei, Yihang successfully completed the test flight of Yihang 216 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar.

although there is no news about the deployment of flying cars by Yihang and Qatar, it is not excluded that we will see this new type of transportation in Qatar one day, given Qatar's love for black technology such as autonomous driving.

fourth, Dubai and Saudi Arabia signed the super high-speed rail? Core players gather in the Middle East

Two active players in the field of super high-speed rail: Virgin Super High-speed Rail and HTT? Are welcomed in the Middle East. Among them, Virgin Super High Speed Rail signed an agreement with two Middle Eastern countries on the development of super high speed rail.

in p>213, elon musk, CEO of Tesla, published an article about super high-speed rail on his SpaceX website, and attached the title Hyperloop? Alpha's super high-speed rail planning and design book.

Musk said that he was disappointed with the "high-speed railway" project being carried out in California at that time, because it was expensive and slow.

in his view, super high-speed rail and similar things can be regarded as the best solution to commuting between cities within 15 kilometers.

▲Hyperloop? Hand-drawn sketch of super high-speed rail in Alpha

According to the original idea, super high-speed rail will be such a travel tool:

1. It is different from airplanes, trains, cars and ships. Super high-speed rail belongs to the fifth new type of transportation.

2. The super high-speed rail consists of a low-pressure pipeline with a built-in transport cabin (capsule), and the transport cabin will travel at high speed or low speed in the pipeline.