World's First Passenger Drone unveiled at CES 2016

The 184, built by Chinese consumer drone maker EHang, is a 440 pound quadcopter with an enclosed seating area for a human passenger. It can carry a person up to 10 miles or up to 23 minutes, at a speeds around 60 miles per hour. And just like small drone it is capable of flying at heights of up to 2.15 miles, though the drone regulation would likely to keep it at just several hundred feet.

The 184 is not the first rideable quadcopter. The 18-rotor Volocopter has been able to carry people since 2011, though it must be piloted manually. In August, a Dutch engineer revealed an open air quadcopter that could carry a person for up to 10 seconds.

The 184 flies with four arms and places the bulk of weight at its centre. Made of lightweight carbon fibre, the drone takes off and lands vertically and it is battery powered. The navigation of the drone is autonomous and made as simple as putting way points in the google maps. A fresh set of flight control algorithms oversee the speed of the drone’s huge rotors, is the largest feature of the system, claimed by Mr. Derrick Xiong, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of EHang.

According to Xiong, the commercialized product comes with failsafe system, even air-conditioner system. The quadcopter could be used as tourist attraction or ferry between difficult to reach locations, such as islands. I could serve many of the same uses cases as small consumer drones and helicopters, such as delivering people and supplies to remote locations or airlifting injured people to safety.

The 184 quadcopter likely to cost between $200,000 and $300,000, keeping them out of reach of the average individual for now. Ehang does plan to ship them this year, and is preparing to begin accepting pre-orders.

It is unclear exactly how a vehicle like the 184 would be regulated in China or elsewhere, but Xiong said EHang is working with mayors of the cities in several countries to consider the technology. Like self-driving cars and consumer drone, it would likely require fresh legislation.