Ehang 184: Human-carrying drone

Chinese UAV Ehang 184 vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft uses eight electric motors to power eight propellers and can carry one person weighing up to 100kg.

With a flight ceiling of 3.5km and cruising speed of 100km, the Ehand 184 has a flight time of 25 minutes and can cover up to 50 kms from a single charge. It takes two hours to recharge.

Derrick Xiong, co-founder of Ehang, said the UAV will require no licence or previous flying experience. There is no passenger override function, meaning the user cannot take control in an emergency. Everything is operated from a command center, which has engineers able to control drones wherever they are in the world. And in the event of a malfunction, the drone would land in the nearest available area.

The Ehang 184 is expected to cost around $200,000 per unit.

When, not if, human-carrying drones will be accepted by the public, their potential for future transportation and the construction industry will be enormous.