Maybe we'll finally get our flying cars after all?Chinese passenger drones are coming to Dubai
Ehang 184 starts its drone limo service in July 2017
By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer 16 hours ago
Dubai
Wikimedia Commons
Aerial View Of Dubai
Dubai, building on the Emirates' oil wealth, has fashioned a futuristic skyline that includes the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, plus indoor ski resorts, an innovative metro system, and—soon enough—robot aerial taxies.
Welcome to Dubai, home of the world's tallest building, an indoor ski resort, and—coming in July 2017—a drone passenger service featuring China's Ehang 184.
Ehang 184 passenger drone China
Ehang
While the Ehang 184 is quite pricey, Ehang hopes that a mass production run of its successors will bring down the price.
Made by the dronemaker Beijing Yi-Hang Creation Science and Technology Corporation, the Ehang 184 is a "passenger drone" that can carry a single person (and luggage) of up to 220 pounds. With a four-rotor layout in the form of a giant quadcopter, it has enough battery power to fly a range of just over 30 miles, at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. The Ehang 184 is also highly autonomous; while its flight computer is linked to a command center (with some human oversight), the flight computer is capable of making emergency landings, self diagnosing issues, and avoiding obstacles.
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Ehang 184 passenger drone China
Ehang
Urban Passage
Ehang hopes that its air chauffeur drone will eventually fly in the skies of drones world wide, doing for personal transportation and private aircraft what DJI has done with recreational drones.
The head of Dubai's Roads and Transportation Authority, Matt Al Tayer, said that the municipal authorities have already tested the Ehang 184 in the skies, and found it to be safe and satisfactory. The concept is that akin to a limo service: it would carry VIP passengers via the air to local destinations, such as from the airport to urban hubs.
The drone is part of Dubai's wider push for a futuristic transit system, an effort that also wants 25 percent of all vehicles to be automated by 2030—and a Hyperloop linking the city to Abu Dhabi.
Ehang 184
Wikimedia
Ehang 184
The Ehang 184 is the world's first production passenger drone. It can carry a single VIP just over 30 miles reaching up to 100 miles per hour.
This high-profile service debut of the Ehang 184 is a victory not just for Chinese unmanned aviation, but also future visions of autonomous and networked systems being used to navigate crowded urban airspaces. On the defense side, the Ehang 184's technology can potentially be applied to medical evacuation, logistics, and even swarming systems on land, air and sea. In the meantime, the success of Ehang 184 in Dubai could open the skies of other global cities to it and other Chinese tech wonders.
Dubai to be trying out Passenger Drones
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Dubai to be trying out Passenger Drones
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Re: Dubai to be trying out Passenger Drones
I see that thing has redundant electronics, but no auto-rotate capability or airframe parachute. I wouldn't want to be a beta tester!