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Dubai Police Reveal New 10-Minute Drug Testing Device
The technology eliminates human error or operator bias, setting it apart from conventional narcotics testing methods.
Dubai Police has introduced a groundbreaking device at the World Police Summit known as the Rapid Test Cup. The new narcotics analyzer ensures fast and accurate examination and identification of thirteen drug types, helping to reduce custody times from seven hours to just ten minutes. The Rapid Test Cup also eliminates the risk of human error or operator bias, setting it apart from conventional drug testing methods.
Although the new device is certainly innovative, developing the Rapid Test Cup was challenging. To ensure its effectiveness, the project underwent 3272 separate trials.
“We are working hard to overcome the high-cost techniques traditionally used for detection, such as manufactured cannabinoids, opiates, and ketamine. Our goal is to proactively detect modern drug abuse with quick, easy, and high-quality screening techniques,” said Faisal Al-Taniji, head of Dubai’s Department of Biological Movement at the Narcotics Observatory Center.
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“This project aligns with our administration’s commitment to advancing the methods and tools employed in forensic evidence and criminology. We strive to provide advanced models that support laboratories, enhance performance levels, and facilitate optimal investment in testing techniques and tools,” added Ibtisam Abdul Rahman Al-Abdouli, Director of the Drug Observatory Center at the General Administration of Forensic Evidence and Criminology in an official press release.
Developers of the Rapid Test Cup have also announced that intellectual property rights have been obtained for the new device, and its technology is available upon request through Dubai Police if criminal laboratories worldwide wish to use it.
News
AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs
Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.
AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.
The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.
“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.
The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.
To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.
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Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.
Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.
AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs
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