We first laid eyes on the Ehang 184 passenger drone at CES previous year.
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“The AAV is created to operate under all climatic conditions unless there is a thunderstorm”, Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the RTA, said of the 184.
EHang 184 drones seat just one passenger and can carry up to 100 kg (220 pounds) at a time.
Importantly, there is no flight control experience required, inside the EHang 184 you are just a passenger, at most you choose a destination on a touch screen, the aircraft flies itself.
The vehicle will be able to hold someone up to 220 pounds along with a small carry-on and will have a battery allowing a half-hour flight time for a distance of around 31 miles. It can fly for a maximum of 30 minutes, with a top cruising speed of 160km/h. Officials said flights could begin in July, though few other details were offered. He did not elaborate. The agency did not immediately respond to further questions from The Associated Press.
While the United States is buzzing about the approach of self-driving Ubers, the United Arab Emirates is already on to the next big thing. We reached out to EHang reps for comment, and will update this story upon receiving a response. In May, authorities in Nevada announced they would partner with EHang to test the 184 to possibly be cleared by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The company normally makes consumer-scale drones – indeed, its Ghostdrone 2.0 VR is available in the U.S. at Best Buy – but the 184 was exponentially larger. “It was described then as “the safest, eco-est and smartest low altitude autonomous aerial vehicle” for short to medium distance travel”. Hyperloop One looks likely to deploy the first active hyperloop transportation system in the city, with a route to Abu Dhabi, for instance, and it’s also piloting a number of self-driving shuttle projects.
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The manufacturer of the passenger drone, based in Guangzhou, China, has raised some $53 million to date according to PitchBook data.
