By: Ian Tucker
March 4, 2018
Airbus Vahana
Last month Airbus released a video of the first successful test flight of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) autonomous drone. Although it only hovered in the air for 53 seconds, the fact that its eight rotors were powered entirely by electricity was a landmark for the manufacturer of gas-guzzling planes. The goal is that the technology could be used for airborne travel in congested cities. “Our goal is to democratise personal flight by leveraging the latest technologies such as electric propulsion, energy storage and machine vision,” blogged Zach Lovering, Vahana project executive.
Ehang 184
Chinese drone manufacturer Ehang is considerably more advanced than Airbus. In February it flew 40 journalists and local dignitaries on trips of up to 15km in Guangzhou, southern China, reaching top speeds of 80mph. To fly, passengers simply mark their destination on a map and the drone creates and executes a flight plan. Ehang claims the craft is robust enough to withstand thunderstorms and typhoons – in the event of problems it can be piloted remotely from a control centre.