CES 2016: Chinese company unveils world’s first passenger drone

A Chinese drone-maker has become one of the unexpected stars of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas after it unveiled the world’s first commercially available passenger drone.

Called the Ehang 184, the pure-electric quadcopter is capable of carrying a passenger, weighing up to 100kg, for a 23 minute flight at altitudes of up to 500m and a range of up to 3.5km.

Taking just two hours to charge with a quick charger, the new pilotless drone can also reach speeds of more than 100km/h.

Already having undertaken more than 100 test flights, including those carrying humans, the Ehang has been designed to fly on three of the four bi-rotors if one of them fails mid-flight.

Each rotor leg actually consists of two rotors powered by two individual motors. This means, in total, the Ehang 184 has eight different motors that combined produce over 106kW.

Made out of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics and aluminium the unmanned aircraft weighs in at just 200kg in full trim.

Since the passengers do not take part in the actual piloting of the aircraft, according to Ehang, they won’t need a licence to fly in one.

It is expected that a permit will be required to licence the aircraft to fly autonomously in the future, although in places like the UK there’s little or no laws governing the use of drones outside of restricted airspace.

Set to be launched later this year, the Ehang 184 is likely to cost between $270,000 and $380,000.

More affordable versions are in the pipeline, say the drone-makers.