Attendees at the CES conference in Las Vegas will have an opportunity straight out of the Jetsons today: the chance to ride a quadcopter drone.
The 184, built by Chinese consumer drone maker Ehang, is a 440-pound quadcopter with an enclosed seating area for human passengers. It can carry a person up to 10 miles, or up to 23 minutes, at speeds around 60 miles per hour, according to Ehang cofounder and chief marketing officer Derrick Xiong. And just like a small drone, it is capable of flying at heights of up to 2.15 miles, though drone regulation would likely keep it at just several hundred feet.
If you are ready to race out and buy a 184, consider that they will likely 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.
“This is a commercialized product that comes with not only the body, but the failsafe system, even an air-conditioner system,” Xiong says.
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