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-- OriginalOwner_ [tinyurl.com] writes:

from the jetson-car-sound-goes-here dept.

Highsnobiety reports Ehang 184: Human-Sized Drone [highsnobiety.com]

At Las Vegas' Consumer Electronics Show 2016, Guangzhou-based company Ehang unveiled the world's first self-flying aircraft prototype--or rather, a passenger drone. The Ehang 184 adopts similarities of a quadcopter drone, but this design has a small cockpit that can carry a single passenger.

After setting off on over 100 test flights, the pilotless vehicle has been designed to fly quite low, at altitudes of between 300 [and] 500 meters--with Ehang claiming it can reach up to 3500 meters. With a maximum speed of 63mph, the self-flying creation lets [each user] choose [his] route and destination via tablet.

Once [...] the take off [and] landing options [are specified and the vehicle is airborne], the [passenger] cannot issue any further directions--meaning the rest is left up to the drone's control base. It does seem a little scary giving up total control, but Ehang promise their device is quite safe, reassuring us that if one of its four rotors fail, there are three remaining rotors.

This much needed safety precaution will allow the aircraft to descend into a bumpy emergency landing. While there are flight restrictions in the UK/US that could limit the use of passenger drones, Ehang are working hard to get the prototype ready for the skies for when that might be a reality.

EV World's coverage [evworld.com] has 2 nice photos including one of the thing all folded up.

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