Pictures from the exhibition. Meet the first unmanned taxi drone EHang 184
Welcome to our readers on the iCover Blog Pages ! An undoubtedly interesting novelty was presented at the CES2016 exhibition held in Las Vegas by the Chinese company EHang. We are talking about the world's first operating prototype of an unmanned passenger electric drone-taxi, the commercial production of which can be launched already in the foreseeable future.
Many Chinese company EHang was remembered by the consumer drone model GHCOSTDRONE 2.0equipped with a camera with support for video recording in 4K mode and supplied with virtual reality glasses. But not everyone knows that for several years now the company's engineers have shifted the main focus to the development of small manned aircraft. Having achieved some success in this direction, the company went even further. Now, after the presentation of the world's first unmanned taxi drone with a “seagull wing” and the uncomplicated name EHang 184, all doubts about EHang's competitiveness in this narrow market segment can still be left in the past. According to the CEO of the company Yehang Shauzi Hu, the prototype spent more than 100 test flights before the presentation and today, more than any of its competitors' counterparts, it is ready for transfer to commercial rails.
Representatives of the company mentioned that “... EHang 184, presented at the exhibition, was“ ... ready to fly, but, unfortunately, we could not demonstrate it in action due to legal restrictions. ”“ But in general, the demonstration at CES 2016 was very successfully, and now our task is to commercialize the product as soon as possible, ”said Shan Xiao, CFO of the company.
Presentation of the prototype drone taxi EHang 184 AVV at CES 2016.
This giant quadrocopter with the ingenuous name Ehang 184 transports so far only one passenger. In the cockpit of the EHang 184, you will not find anything even remotely resembling traditional aircraft controls. No control knobs, no steering wheel or joystick, no buttons, no control panels and switches - the complete triumph of minimalism.
The hardware and software complex EHang 184 is designed in such a way that allows you to program the flight parameters and the route on the electronic map until the start.
On-board computer EHang 184
A well-thought-out ergonomic seat and a miniature stand with a tablet computer mounted on it is quite enough to deliver you to the right place at the right time. Naturally, despite the obvious advantages of such a solution, some psychological discomfort associated with the need to completely entrust your life and health to the on-board computer at the stage of acquaintance with the EHang 184 cannot be avoided.
One of the main challenges facing EHang today is to go through the accreditation process at the US Federal Aviation Administration, which will allow you to get all the necessary certificates for the right to use and sell “EHang 184”. And one of the fundamentally important technical problems that the company’s engineers will have to solve in the very near future is to provide additional safety measures during landing and increase the battery capacity reserve, which today allow spending no more than 23 minutes in the air, which significantly limits the possibilities of using the drone to its intended purpose.
EHang carries on board one passenger, equipped with 8 propellers and 4 “hands”. The height of the structure is about 1.5 m, weight is about 180 kg. The total power of the engines allows the transportation of goods with a total weight of up to 100 kg. Cruising speed up to 100 km / h with a lift height of 3.5 km. Stay in the air - up to 23 minutes. Battery charging time: fast mode - 2 hours, standard mode - 4 hours. There is a small compartment for personal items and the possibility of air conditioning. According to Yehang, with four arms folded, the drone will take about as much parking space as a car.
The final cost of the model, as well as the exact date of commencement of commercial sales has not been disclosed, although, as stipulated by Yehang, we will talk about hundreds of thousands of $.
Of course, the first and most important question that arises for someone who is going to test the capabilities of an unmanned drone for the first time: what if the on-board computer ceases to cope with its tasks during the flight? “This is the case,” explained Yekhang, when the control center takes over the flight control center, which tracks all drones in the sky 24/7. ” Here, of course, one cannot discard a certain probability of interruptions in cellular communications, and, as a result, loss of control over the device, at least for a while. As for the security of the channel, "... here, as stated on the company's website, there is a channel with encryption for communication with each device."
If, for example, an approaching or flying flock of birds is visible at a certain distance at a distance of the drone’s movement, then the passenger can, by clicking on the monitor screen, slow down to zero and freeze in the air until the situation normalizes.
In addition to the listed capabilities, the EHang 184 is equipped with built-in Ehangen fault tolerance control systems, which significantly increases the likelihood of its successful landing in the event of failure or disconnection of any node or component, ”the company’s website says.
“My goal in life was to make flights faster, easier and more comfortable,” Ehang shared with the press ... “EHang 184 efficiently and safely solves many of the problems that the transportation industry faces daily. I sincerely believe that in the future EHang will not be limited only to the movement of passengers for personal purposes, but will be able to have a global impact on at least a dozen other areas. EHang 184 awakens in us old memories of the desired future, which could come only if fundamental problems were resolved, ”summed Yehang.
Quick reference
The head office of EHang Inc., founded in 2014, is located in Guangzhou (China). EHang has more than 150 employees. Among the Founders are representatives of leading institutes - Tsinghua University, Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Los Angeles. The company collaborates with specialists from 21Vianet Group, Lenovo and Microsoft, which greatly increases EHang's chances of successful competition in the future and opens up really brilliant prospects.
According to the results of 2014, EHang was ranked among the 50 fastest growing companies in the ranking of Fast magazine business magazine and became the winner of last year's CES 2015 in the nomination "Best Drone".
Read more:
Ehang.com
theverge.com
businessinsider.com
Dear readers, we are always happy to meet and wait for you on the pages of our blog. We are ready to continue to share with you the latest news, review materials and other publications, and will try to do our best to make the time spent with us useful for you. And, of course, do not forget to subscribe to our columns .
Our other articles and events
Many Chinese company EHang was remembered by the consumer drone model GHCOSTDRONE 2.0equipped with a camera with support for video recording in 4K mode and supplied with virtual reality glasses. But not everyone knows that for several years now the company's engineers have shifted the main focus to the development of small manned aircraft. Having achieved some success in this direction, the company went even further. Now, after the presentation of the world's first unmanned taxi drone with a “seagull wing” and the uncomplicated name EHang 184, all doubts about EHang's competitiveness in this narrow market segment can still be left in the past. According to the CEO of the company Yehang Shauzi Hu, the prototype spent more than 100 test flights before the presentation and today, more than any of its competitors' counterparts, it is ready for transfer to commercial rails.
Representatives of the company mentioned that “... EHang 184, presented at the exhibition, was“ ... ready to fly, but, unfortunately, we could not demonstrate it in action due to legal restrictions. ”“ But in general, the demonstration at CES 2016 was very successfully, and now our task is to commercialize the product as soon as possible, ”said Shan Xiao, CFO of the company.
Presentation of the prototype drone taxi EHang 184 AVV at CES 2016.
This giant quadrocopter with the ingenuous name Ehang 184 transports so far only one passenger. In the cockpit of the EHang 184, you will not find anything even remotely resembling traditional aircraft controls. No control knobs, no steering wheel or joystick, no buttons, no control panels and switches - the complete triumph of minimalism.
The hardware and software complex EHang 184 is designed in such a way that allows you to program the flight parameters and the route on the electronic map until the start.
On-board computer EHang 184
A well-thought-out ergonomic seat and a miniature stand with a tablet computer mounted on it is quite enough to deliver you to the right place at the right time. Naturally, despite the obvious advantages of such a solution, some psychological discomfort associated with the need to completely entrust your life and health to the on-board computer at the stage of acquaintance with the EHang 184 cannot be avoided.
One of the main challenges facing EHang today is to go through the accreditation process at the US Federal Aviation Administration, which will allow you to get all the necessary certificates for the right to use and sell “EHang 184”. And one of the fundamentally important technical problems that the company’s engineers will have to solve in the very near future is to provide additional safety measures during landing and increase the battery capacity reserve, which today allow spending no more than 23 minutes in the air, which significantly limits the possibilities of using the drone to its intended purpose.
EHang carries on board one passenger, equipped with 8 propellers and 4 “hands”. The height of the structure is about 1.5 m, weight is about 180 kg. The total power of the engines allows the transportation of goods with a total weight of up to 100 kg. Cruising speed up to 100 km / h with a lift height of 3.5 km. Stay in the air - up to 23 minutes. Battery charging time: fast mode - 2 hours, standard mode - 4 hours. There is a small compartment for personal items and the possibility of air conditioning. According to Yehang, with four arms folded, the drone will take about as much parking space as a car.
The final cost of the model, as well as the exact date of commencement of commercial sales has not been disclosed, although, as stipulated by Yehang, we will talk about hundreds of thousands of $.
Of course, the first and most important question that arises for someone who is going to test the capabilities of an unmanned drone for the first time: what if the on-board computer ceases to cope with its tasks during the flight? “This is the case,” explained Yekhang, when the control center takes over the flight control center, which tracks all drones in the sky 24/7. ” Here, of course, one cannot discard a certain probability of interruptions in cellular communications, and, as a result, loss of control over the device, at least for a while. As for the security of the channel, "... here, as stated on the company's website, there is a channel with encryption for communication with each device."
If, for example, an approaching or flying flock of birds is visible at a certain distance at a distance of the drone’s movement, then the passenger can, by clicking on the monitor screen, slow down to zero and freeze in the air until the situation normalizes.
In addition to the listed capabilities, the EHang 184 is equipped with built-in Ehangen fault tolerance control systems, which significantly increases the likelihood of its successful landing in the event of failure or disconnection of any node or component, ”the company’s website says.
“My goal in life was to make flights faster, easier and more comfortable,” Ehang shared with the press ... “EHang 184 efficiently and safely solves many of the problems that the transportation industry faces daily. I sincerely believe that in the future EHang will not be limited only to the movement of passengers for personal purposes, but will be able to have a global impact on at least a dozen other areas. EHang 184 awakens in us old memories of the desired future, which could come only if fundamental problems were resolved, ”summed Yehang.
Quick reference
The head office of EHang Inc., founded in 2014, is located in Guangzhou (China). EHang has more than 150 employees. Among the Founders are representatives of leading institutes - Tsinghua University, Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Los Angeles. The company collaborates with specialists from 21Vianet Group, Lenovo and Microsoft, which greatly increases EHang's chances of successful competition in the future and opens up really brilliant prospects.
According to the results of 2014, EHang was ranked among the 50 fastest growing companies in the ranking of Fast magazine business magazine and became the winner of last year's CES 2015 in the nomination "Best Drone".
Read more:
Ehang.com
theverge.com
businessinsider.com
Dear readers, we are always happy to meet and wait for you on the pages of our blog. We are ready to continue to share with you the latest news, review materials and other publications, and will try to do our best to make the time spent with us useful for you. And, of course, do not forget to subscribe to our columns .
Our other articles and events