China’s Ehang secured the world’s very first “form certification” for an electrical vertical choose-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in late 2023. So, what is it like to consider a ride inside of a fully autonomous air taxi?
About an hour’s push from the firm’s headquarters in Guangzhou, China, sits a exam internet site for Ehang’s autonomous aerial autos.
Perched on the tarmac during CNBC’s visit was the firm’s fully autonomous, two-seater air taxi.
“This is our EH216 design, and it is positioned for brief-length transportation or sightseeing in the town,” explained Dong Wang, Ehang’s vice president of technological analysis and growth. His interview with “CNBC Tech: The Edge” has been translated into English from Mandarin.
In Oct 2023, Ehang declared the EH216-S AAV had secured a “variety certificate” from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country’s equal to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States — a certification Wang reported is a planet 1st.
“The procedure is entirely automatic. Its scheduling technique operates on the server, so its route is immediately loaded, and then it carries out a absolutely automatic route flight.”
The aircraft will value $410,000 overseas, with a decreased price tag tag of 2.39 million yuan in China, equal to about $330,000.
“We also have a greater plane for transportation among metropolitan areas. For the reason that of this other plane, we also need to create a vertical consider-off and landing flight internet site concerning towns,” Wang stated.
Ehang plans to get started commercial functions in China right before the conclude of the 12 months.
Consider a tour of the EH216 and view its exam flight by clicking the online video over.
