Dubai police announce electric Star Wars-style hoverbikes for officers at Gitex tech conference

Dubai police announce electric Star Wars-style hoverbikes for officers at Gitex tech conference

Dubai police have announced they will soon have officers buzzing around the skies on Star Wars-style electric hoverbikes capable of speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour.

The Hoversurf Scorpion was unveiled at the Gitex Technology Week conference, Gulf News reported.

The Russian-made craft can fly at a height of five metres and carry a police officer over congested traffic in emergency situations, First Sergeant Ali Ahmad Mohammad told Gulf News.

"The bike can also fly without a passenger and can go up to six kilometres," he said.

"It can fly for 25 minutes and can carry up to 300kg of weight at a speed of 70kph."

Hoversurf CEO Alexander Atamanov posted on Facebook to say the company and Dubai police had signed a memorandum of understanding to mass produce the craft in the Dubai area.

Police also unveiled a smart electric motorbike that has multiple cameras to spot reckless drivers, and small driverless robotic vehicles equipped with biometric software that will scan for criminals and persons of interest while patrolling different areas of the city.

"It can recognise people in any area and identify suspicious objects and can track suspects," Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, director of the Smart Services Department at Dubai Police, told Gulf News.

"It will be deployed at tourist destinations in Dubai. It has cameras and will be linked to the command room."

The technology is the latest to further Dubai's reputation as one of the world's most technologically advanced cities — earlier this year, authorities announced the introduction of water jetpacks for firefighting.