The Paris Olympics have become embroiled in controversy following a drone spying incident. The Canadian women’s soccer team has come under scrutiny after two staff members were dismissed for allegedly using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practice sessions.
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European urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter is experiencing unexpected turbulence in its efforts to roll out initial air taxi services around the world, with its launch project in Singapore reportedly having been put on hold just as its plans to debut aerial activity in Paris have met sharp political opposition.
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Disneyland Paris is once again leading the move to expand the role of drone shows in daily performances at Disney Company theme parks around the world, with the introduction of its “Disney Electrical Sky Parade” – an innovative spectacle for which pyrotechnic devices have actually been added to the UAVs themselves.
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The planned global introduction of air taxi services next year during the Paris Summer Olympics already risks being grounded after city authorities from across party lines joined up this week to lavishly dump on what elsewhere in France and the world has been the tech’s much-ballyhooed debut.
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Police in France have conducted the nation’s first known drone surveillance of a pro soccer match, with flights of UAVs above Paris’s Parc des Princes stadium Saturday in what may be the first step toward regular deployment of publicly opposed aerial tech.
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Rising global temperatures are forcing authorities in France to limber up the habitual straight-jacket restrictions on operating drones in Paris, and allow designated craft to hover on high to hunt out spots in and around the capital where people can cool off.
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The Paris Air Show broke all records for attendance with its habitual large-draw long-haul passenger planes and military jets, but the main stars of the 2023 biannual event were arguably the next-generation electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis making their first appearance.
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Transport authorities in France have lifted the veil a bit more on demonstration air taxi services slated to debut during the Paris Summer Olympics next year, including the anticipated cost of a ride between Charles de Gaulle Airport and a riverside Seine vertiport of about €110 (just over $119).
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A group of companies that includes Volocopter, Skyports, and airport operator Groupe ADP have inaugurated what they say is Europe’s first fully integrated vertiport, created for testing all aspects of air taxi operation expected to be introduced during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
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German air taxi developer Volocopter was among a group of sector companies that successfully tested the integration and use of traditional air traffic management (ATM) technology with new uncrewed traffic management (UTM) platforms designed to orchestrate the flight of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) planes.
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Though the Paris Métro may be over 120 years old, the famous underground subway system strives to stay young through modernization, and is now preparing to roll out new tech innovations that include robots and drones.
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The honor of hosting the first-ever drone show performed in a Walt Disney Company theme park will go to France this March, when Disneyland Paris celebrates its 30th anniversary.
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National Geographic’s February cover features one of Europe’s most well-known structures – the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Captured beautifully by a drone, the cover shows the cathedral’s iconic buttresses undergoing reconstruction after being damaged by fire in 2019 (see image below). But did you know, it took photographer Tomas van Houtryve six months to get the aerial shot!? Here’s why…
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Remember the mattress campaign from Netflix’s Emily in Paris where they put a bed in “the most irresistibly Instagrammable spots” around Paris? We may just have discovered Netflix’s real-world inspiration for that campaign: a French designer furniture brand called BoboChic.
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The future of European urban air mobility (UAM) drew a little bit nearer after German vehicle manufacturer Volocopter piloted the first public flight in France of its 2X copter. Company officials say they hope to have a similar craft in commercial air taxi service in time for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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