Ehang drone can carry one person

More and more drones are being produced and used around the world for a variety of purposes. Now, Chinese company Ehang is moving to the next level with its first passenger drone.

Ehang's 184 AAV drone, shown at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, is 1.84m high and has four propellers and room for one passenger. It flies in an inverted U shape and takes off and lands vertically. The drone has a landing camera that positions the landing points. Passengers will simply put in their destination and the drone will find the fastest and safest route. The drone will only be for short flights of up to 23 minutes and will fly at a maximum altitude of 3.5km. Unlike remote-controlled drones, the 184 AAV does not require any knowledge of piloting a plane. It can also be folded up for storage.

With the growing popularity of unmanned aircraft, could pilots at some point become obsolete? In 2015, CNN reported on the experimental Centaur four-seater plane that was flight tested by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. While it flew without any pilot on board, it did require remote control. Ehang's drone operates by simply inputting the desired destination. The passenger cannot override the drone in case of an emergency. Centaur's unmanned plane is pilot optional.

In 2013, an unmanned dual propeller civilian aircraft, the British Aerospace Jetstream, was successfully tested by a UK drone consortium. The plane took off and landed with a pilot on board but was controlled remotely in flight. — AFP Relaxnews