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But
one definitely stands out. This is the Ehang 184, the world's
first passenger drone. It doesn't have any flight controls
because its not meant to. The UAV is completely autonomous,
relying on sensors and computers to navigate from take off to
landing.
"So the people sitting in there is not going to be a pilot. You
know, you don't need to get a license in the future. You're just
a passenger. You are going in there (the drone) and sit in there
and enjoy the flight," said Derrick Xiong, co-founder of Chinese
UAV company Ehang.
The only user interface in the drone is a tablet which gives the
passenger the options to take off and land as well as adjust the
air-conditioning.
Currently the drone can carry one passenger to a height of
11,500 feet (3505 meters).
"The cruising speed, the standard speed is going to be 63 miles
per hour (101km) and the cruising time will be 23 minutes. So we
are talking about 20 plus miles (32km) at this time," said Xiong.
According to the company, the drone is equipped with a
multi-rotor system with 8 propellors, giving better odds to
safely land even if multiple systems fail. But in the event of
an emergency, Ehang plan on monitoring all flights with a remote
control center that is capable of intervening if the need
arises.
Assuming clearance by the multiple regulatory agencies to
actually sell the drone, owning one won't come cheap with a
price tab somewhere between $200,000USD to $300,000USD.
A small price to pay to avoid traffic and fly to work.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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