Finally, a drone with a cockpit...
By on Jan 10 2015
Have you flown your friend's drone yet?
90% of your efforts will likely end up with you crashing the miniature copter into a tree, or a lightpost, or a brick wall, or a human being. However, the other 10%? Fun as can be.
For Chinese drone-maker (a title truly and only fit for 2016) Ehang Inc., there was something always slightly amiss about the whole thing. And, suddenly, the lightbulb flickered on.
Capable of flying at a maximum of 63 miles per hour for 23 minutes, the new human-friendly drone from the gadgets company is officially the coolest and most dangerous thing to come along since those shoes with little wheels on them. (Those were cool, right?)
This machine is capable of reaching a maximum altitude of 11, 500 feet!
Planning to sell the device in the $200,000 - $300,000 price range, Ehang Inc.'s incredible machine can hold, curiously, one person and a small backpack " according to Ryan Nakashima of phys.org. The cabin also contains a reading light and air conditioning.
Though the peripherals are scant, the manufacturers of the Microsoft Surface-controlled machine are clearly banking on the flight capabilities; yet, there is one catch should the Surface fail, there are no backup controls for the pilot. Instead, Ehang Inc. has planned to build a remote control center " that would take over the vehicle, ensuring its safe landing. Furthermore, should a propeller become damaged:
One thing that makes quad-copters safer than helicopters are its numerous propellers, [Chief Marketing Officer Derrick] Xiong said. Even if three of the four arms have their six propellers disabled, the final arm's working propellers can ensure a rough landing by spiraling toward the ground, he said.
Though Xiong left out the details of what the phrase ensure a rough landing " actually means, the machine is in early development, so a lot of the details were breezed over when the machine was shown at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas Convention Center, Jan. 6 th. Check out more at www.ehang.com and check out the original article here by Ryan Nakashima.
