Engineering:Ehang UAV
| UAV | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ehang 184, first Passenger drone | |
| Role | Multirotors |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | Ehang |
| Designer | Ehang |
| First flight | Unknown |
| Introduction | 2014 |
| Status | Unknown |
| Primary user | China |
Ehang UAVs are a series of UAVs developed by the Chinese company Beijing Yi-Hang Creation Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Ehang, Chinese: 北京亿航创世科技有限公司) which have entered service in China for aerial cinematography, photography, and survey missions.
In January 2016, Ehang announced new drones capable of carrying passengers, in a world first accomplishment.[1] The company announced plans with Dubai's Road & Transportation Agency in 2017 to launch an autonomous flying-taxi service starting in the summer of 2017,[2][3] though as of November 2017 there have been no news about such launch. The company has also worked with a project with Nevada's Institute for Autonomous Systems for a drone taxi that can transport a single passenger for up to 23 minutes with the EHang 184 drone.[4]
Ehang 184 was introduced in 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, and became the world's first passenger drone.[5][6]
Ghost
Ghost is a quadcopter developed by Ehang in a typical quadrotor layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. However, Ghost has an unusual feature: the rotors are mounted below the tips of the arms, instead of being mounted on top of the tips of the arms like most other multirotors. Ghost is mainly intended for aerial photography missions, and it is controlled by a smartphone. Its complete name is Ghost Intelligent Aerial Robot (Chinese: Ghost智能空中机器人; pinyin: Ghost zhìnéng kōngzhōng jīqìrén).[7]
Specification:[7]
- Size (m): 0.36
- Empty weight (kg): 0.65 without batteries
- Battery: 2.6 Ah lithium battery
- Endurance (min): 8 – 13
Hexacopter
Ehang Hexacopter is a new UAV developed by Ehang and it has not yet been named. The existence of this hexacopter was revealed for the first time to the public when it made its public debut in August 2014 at TechCrunch Beijing.[8] The yet-to-be-named hexacopter is constructed of carbon fiber composite material with a pair of skids as landing gear. The arms of this hexacopter are curved, as opposed to the straight arms of most multi-rotors currently on the market. The hexacopter is controlled by laptop computer.[8]
Specification:[8]
- Payload (kg): 10
- Endurance (min): 30 – 40
- Range (km): 5
- Unit price($): 5000
Ehang 184
The Ehang 184 is an autonomous, passenger drone capable of reaching over 62 mph (100 km/h). Ehang says it started carrying passengers in 2015 and since made 40 journeys till releasing footage in February 2018. In three years, more than 1,000 test flights were conducted, including some "violent" ones with dummies, in storm-force winds, in low visibility, at night and 1,000 ft (300 m) above the ground.[9] It has eight propellers on four arms and by July 2018, 30 to 40 single pilot EHang 184 have been built.[10]
Ehang 216
The 216 is a two-seater with 16 propellers, it has made over 1,000 manned flights by July 2018 and its maximum range flown was 8.8 km (5.5 miles).[10]
See also
- List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China
References
- ↑ Press, Associated (7 January 2016). "First passenger drone makes its debut at CES". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/07/first-passenger-drone-makes-world-debut.
- ↑ "Chinese startups push into foreign markets". https://www.economist.com/news/business/21718541-firms-such-ehang-and-musically-are-discovering-more-opportunities-abroad.
- ↑ "This MegaDrone Will Be a Self-Flying Air Taxi in Dubai This Summer". http://fortune.com/2017/02/16/dubai-travel-drones-air-taxi-ehang-184/.
- ↑ "Drone Taxis? Nevada To Allow Testing Of Passenger Drone" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/08/481286099/drone-taxis-nevada-to-allow-testing-of-passenger-drone.
- ↑ "World’s first passenger drone unveiled at CES". Reuters. 2016. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ces-passenger-drone/worlds-first-passenger-drone-unveiled-at-ces-idUSKBN0UM0GW20160108.
- ↑ Press, Associated (7 January 2016). "First passenger drone makes its debut at CES" (in en). the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/07/first-passenger-drone-makes-world-debut.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ghost quadcopter". http://tech.sina.com.cn/s/2014-07-21/08049507544.shtml. Retrieved Jul 21, 2014.)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Hexadcopter". https://www.engadget.com/2014/08/11/ehang-hexacopter-drone-china/??ncid=rss_full. Retrieved Aug 11, 2014.
- ↑ Michelle Toh and Jon Ostrower (February 8, 2018). "People are now flying around in autonomous drones". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/08/technology/ehang-self-flying-drone/index.html.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "EHang Makes More 184s and 216s". Electric VTOL News. 1 July 2018. http://evtol.news/2018/07/01/ehang-makes-more-184s-and-216s/.
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