Possible future of urban travel

EHang hopes to use drones to carry passengers at low altitudes over distances of up to 35 kilometres

drone to carry passengers at low altitude over distances of up to 35 kilometres but for now still needs to be cleared for use by aviation authorities.

“Our biggest challenge is not technology, it’s not regulation, it’s people’s mentality,” says EHang’s chief marketing officer Derrick Xiong, referring to possible reticence on the part of passengers towards the new vehicle.

The company says it has received “thousands” of pre-orders and that it is working with Austrian aeronautics company FACC to start mass production next year.

Xiong says early interest has come from “oil and gas companies that want to transport engineers from one platform to the other” as well as tourism companies and firms transporting organs for transplant.

He said the EHang is expected to cost around 200,000 euros (RM922,530) but would not be available for private buyers.

“Technically speaking, it’s not a dream, it is a reality,” FACC CEO Robert Machtlinger said, adding that the project had already carried out 7,000 flying hours, of which 2,000 have been manned.

The Austrian company, which has a turnover of around 800 million euros, supplies aerospace giants including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer.

It said it hopes to produce around 300 of the drone taxis by mid-2021. The EHANG 216 Air Taxi.

EHang has been carrying out most of its testing in China, as well a test flight in February 2017 in Dubai which was closed to the public.

Manufacturers working on other drone taxi prototypes — notably the German Volocopter — have been in touch with aviation authorities, including the EU’s European Aviation Safety Agency, to try to get authorisation for their models.

“Some draft regulations are already existing” says Machtlinger, but adds that getting drone taxis legal status is complicated by their hybrid nature: “It’s not a helicopter, it’s not an aeroplane.”

Austrian Transport Minister Norbert Hofer, who was present at the demonstration, said he hoped Austria could be among the first countries to have drone taxis flying regularly in its cities.

Dubai has also expressed interest in being an early adopter of the technology.

EHang says its drone taxi can fly unaided for 30 minutes and reach speeds of up to 130km an hour and carry 260kg.

With its 17 kilowatt battery, its energy consumption per journey is “comparable to an electric car in an urban environment,” says Machtlinger.

AFP