Watch: The passenger drone that might one day replace a taxi
A passenger drone made by a Chinese firm was cleared for testing in the US in June.
The transport industry might see a seismic shift over the next few years as there is a new kid on the block. Ehang Holdings Limited, a technology company in China, is working with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development in the United States to begin testing the world’s first passenger drone that flies autonomously, Ehang 184.
The drone can be called via an app and all the passenger has to do is enter the destination. The drone runs on electricity requires no runway as it takes off vertically and can bear a maximum weight of 100 kg, for a 23-minute duration. It can reach a speed of 100 kmph.
The company is also looking at adapting the drone to deliver organs for transplant. Ehang has tied up with Lung Biotechnology PBC to develop a Manufactured Organ Transport Helicopter system. As part of this, a fleet of 1,000 vehicles will be developed and purchased for emergency transport of organs.
An existing passenger drone is the Volocopter VC 200. That however, needs to be manned by a pilot. Here’s a video of its first flight.
While the future for this type of transport does look colourful, any commercial large-scale applications for such projects are at least 15 years away, so it will be a while before the average taxi can be replaced by one of these high-flying contraptions.