![]() ![]() "There are so many traffic jams in China that it takes ambulances a long time to get to where the patient is," EHang CFO Shang Hsiao said in an interview. But because the vehicle is so expensive, the company thinks it would be best for something like emergency responders. Xiong said the company is already in talks with city officials in LA about bringing in the vehicle. There's also the service fee to pay for the command center on top of that.ĮHang sees the vehicle as being particularly attractive in big cities with lots of street traffic, like Beijing or Los Angeles. Although the company is still working out the price, it could range anywhere between $200,000 and $300,000. Considering how the FAA has struggled to figure out how to regulate drones, I'd imagine the agency will also have some issues with the 184. ![]() The company will begin working on getting a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration soon. EHang will first launch in the China and set up a command center there, where it will employ around 300 people, but the US isn't far behind. No official launch date has been set, but the company said commercialization will begin in a few months. Still, having no sense-and-avoid technology in an autonomous machine carrying people around seems like a mistake. The command center would, for example, make sure that a 184 doesn't take off in extreme weather conditions. The command center will monitor every 184 in the air 24/7 and the company plans integrate with existing air traffic controller operations. Instead, Ehang will rely on a fail-safe system that will automatically land the vehicle if it senses that any component on the machine is damaged. EHang will also have a command center that employs people to make sure everything is safe - sort of like an air traffic controller at an airport. "Passengers don't need to learn how to fly it, they don't need get to a pilot's license," EHang cofounder Derrick Xiong said in an interview. "They just need to press a button and then it vertically takes off, flies from point A to point B, and lands."ĮHang said the vehicle is primarily designed for traveling short-to-medium distances - around 10 miles - and will fly at around 60 miles per hour.įor safety, Xiong said the 184 won't use computer vision to sense objects and avoid them. ![]()
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