The Story
Ehang displayed its new creation, the Ehang 184 Autonomous Drone ($CONCEPT) at this years Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a self-piloting drone that can carry a single person approximately 20 miles at an altitude of 11,000 feet. They say the drone can take off, detect obstacles, and land safely completely autonomously. Although I’m just a bit skeptical of the 184’s overall viability.
The Details
Ehang is a Chinese UAV company, founded in 2014. To date, their primary products have been standard sized drones. Because no one has seen the 184 in action or have reported to take a ride it, it is more than likely it is just a marketing tool to promote their other products.
Technical specifications on the companies website list the drone at 4.5 feet tall, weighing in at just 440 pounds. It can carry a single passenger for 23 minutes, with a top speed of 60 MPH.
When a passenger initiates a flight, they don’t do much else other than putting in their destination. Otherwise, a passenger will have no control over any of the systems during flight. If something goes wrong, Ehang says the drone has multiple system backups, and will land immediately in case of system failure.
Can’t wait to see what the FAA says about this thing.
