Footage Revealed of EHANG 184 Manned Transportation Drone
Since its debut at CES in early 2016, the EHang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle had been attracting the worldwide attention of global media as well as the general public, today we get the best look yet at the Ehang 184, with footage for the first time showing it carrying out test flights with people on-board.
EHANG, a global leader in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies, has unveiled footage of the latest test flights of their self-flying passenger aircraft or Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV).
The EHANG 184 series is the world's first passenger drone capable of carrying a single person at up to 130 km/h and in force 7 typhoon conditions.
These manned test flights are just the latest in a series of tests to ensure that the EHANG 184 AAV will be safe and ready for public use in the near future.
Among the 40 or so passengers who helped in this crucial testing phase were WANG Dong, deputy mayor of Guangzhou, and EHANG founder and CEO, Huazhi Hu.
“Performing manned test flights enables us to demonstrate the safety and stability of our vehicles,” Hu said.
“What we're doing isn't an extreme sport, so the safety of each passenger always comes first. Now that we've successfully tested the EHANG 184, I'm really excited to see what the future holds for us in terms of air mobility.”
Hu founded EHANG in 2014 and since then more than 150 technical engineers have conducted thousands of test flights.
The numerous test flights include a vertical climbing test reaching up to 300 m, a loaded test flight carrying approximately 230 kg, a routed test flight covering 15 km, and a high-speed cruising test that reached 130 km/h.
“We've been developing and testing aerial vehicle technology for some time now, and we're finally at the test flight stage for the AAV. It's been a huge success.”
Despite this success, the EHANG 184 AAV will still see further improvements.
More emphasis will be placed on improving passenger experience and on adding an optional manual control, giving passengers with piloting experience the choice to operate the vehicle manually.
In addition, the company has already developed and tested a 2-seat AAV with a payload of up to 280 kg.
But when will these passenger drones be readily available for public use?
“This is a step-by-step process,” commented Hu.
“At EHANG, we have our own roadmap. When it comes to the development and application of any transformative technology, first the technological innovation makes an impact, then the relevant policies are created and developed. This goes on to push further development of the industry.”
In 2017, EHANG was granted the AS9100C certification, a quality management system widely adopted and standardized by international aerospace industry.
Its AAV obtained the Special Flight Permit for civil aerial vehicles issued by CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China).
In addition, EHANG is working closely with CAAC to jointly establish relevant airworthiness standards for the transformative AAVs as a major industry representative of the CAAC UAV Technical Experts Committee.
This makes for improved and systematic industry policies and standards and pushing forward industry development.
Despite its early successful test flights, EHANG says it is making improvements to the aircraft.
More emphasis will be placed on improving passenger experience and on adding an option for manual control, giving passengers with piloting experience the choice to operate the vehicle manually.
In addition, the company has already developed and tested a two-seater with a payload of up to 617 pounds (280 kilograms).
EHANG has proven that its autonomous aerial vehicle can fly, which is no small feat. But proving that it can scale up into a full-blown aerial taxi service is an entirely different challenge and something with which a number of giant, multibillion-dollar companies are currently wrestling.
There is a vertical take-off and landing gold rush going on right now, and EHANG clearly wants to prove itself a major player.
Read: Uber and Bell Helicopter show off passenger drone concept at CES 2018
Related: Why You Need to Think Twice About Flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Transportation
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