The Ehang 184, unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, is designed to carry a single person up to 10 miles. Watch the full working principles of Ehang 184.
Forget self-driving cars. So 2015. Now a Chinese company is developing drones that will carry humans.
Drone-maker Ehang has built a prototype of a small, personal helicopter capable of carrying a single passenger - resembling a giant, remote control quadcopter of the sort flown by hobbyists.
It was unveiled at the Las Vegas Convention Centre on Wednesday during the CES gadget show.
According to the company, the electric-powered drone can carry up to 100 kilograms of weight (220 pounds) and fly for 23 minutes at sea level. With propellers folded up, it is designed to fit in a single parking spot. The cabin fits one person and a small backpack and even has air conditioning and a reading light, Ehang said.
Some of the company's claims border on the heroic. The company said the drone can be fully charged in 2 hours, adding that after setting a flight plan, passengers only need to give two commands, "take off" and "land," each controlled by a single click.
The passenger need not pilot the craft, merely input the destination. The drone does the rest, plotting the course and avoiding obstacles.
In the air, it will be capable of speeds of up to 62 miles per hour and a range of 10 miles.
The 184 (one passenger, eight propellers, four arms) is some way off production just yet.
Governments all around the world are only just now starting to work out ways of regulating unmanned drones, let alone passenger drones, but Ehang says it is working with regulatory agencies to figure out how licensing might work.
4 Comments
EMPIREsays..."Absolute safety by design"
- open props and the passenger has to pass between them to get into the cockpit. all it takes is a false ignition or some other mistake after it lands , and the person is cut in half.
- drone design. just one of the 4 engines fails, and that shit drops to the ground like a brick, because it has no gliding properties and it can't autorotate like a helicopter or gyro, and at the height it will operate, I doubt a parachute would be of any use.
yeaaaahh... Not really anxious to try one out
Drachen_Jagersays...You forgot "Made in China" not a label to inspire confidence. If it were made in Germany, I'm sure a lot more people would believe in the safety features, but honestly, I think the reason it's NOT made in Germany is that it's inherently impossible to design such a vehicle to actually be safe.
1 blade breaks (bird strike?) 1 motor fails, ANYTHING goes wrong with the software or hardware, structural failures, hell, even the passenger shifting rapidly in their seat could cause this thing to fall out of the air like a brick.
They seem to think if they repeat "absolute safety by design" often enough somebody will believe it, but the video does absolutely nothing to show what they've done to actually make the thing safe.
I have a new tag line for them:
"Absolutely safe, just like Chinese-made hoverboards!"
enochjesus christ you two!
it is a prototype for fuck sakes!
i am not saying you both are not bringing up valid points,but can you at least put your cynicism aside for at least one second and just marvel at the mere prospect of flying cars,using this technology,in the somewhat near future?
ah well...
i thought this was pretty neat.
then again i am easily impressed.
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