traveling up to 60 mph. Not very impressive or useful quite yet (especially since it needs more than two hours of charging time after traveling this distance). As battery technology evolves, expect this to change.
The 184 has safety systems that will land the vehicle automatically if it senses any problems on board. EHang will also have a manned command center to monitor all 184s around the clock to ensure safety, which sounds like a nice service model for them and builds upon drone control centers setup by the military. This command center will be integrated with existing air traffi c controller operations. The current version seems to be lacking in a few details, but, as all fi rst-to- the-market products, you can expect that major changes and upgrades will emerge quickly, especially as it is copied by numerous competitors.
EHang has not identifi ed a launch date yet, but has stated that commercialization will begin this year. This product will be initially launched in the China, along with a command center there, and they expect the U.S. launch to follow. The company expects to begin working on obtaining a certifi cate from the FAA soon, which could prove to be a challenge. Little drones have proven to be a daunting task for this agency already — imagine how they handle one with a person inside. While EHang sounds awfully optimistic on this product and when it will enter the market, the bigger picture to keep in mind is that this is merely the fi rst such announced product of its kind, with many more to come. There are other companies developing related products (although, no one has announced a drone that can ferry a passenger
via an Uber-like app yet). Many entities are working on developing batteries embedded as part of a vehicle’s structure, which would quite simply extend the range of the 184 immediately. Other eff orts in lighter materials and better propulsion which make autonomous vehicles even more plausible.
FINAL THOUGHTS Now that we have laid the groundwork for the original question, “Can aviation actually be ‘Uber- ifi ed?,” we can answer this with a resounding, “Maybe in a few years.” As discussed earlier, the FAA has not allowed a true Uber-like service to operate for various reasons, and has stopped attempts to change its regulations. The current crop of air charter operators launching ODMS- based services has been notable, but they have not seemingly yet
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