It seems that the flying cars are coming closer to reality with every passing day as China-based technology startup Ehang’s Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, Ehang 184, has achieved a series of manned flight tests carrying one and two passengers.
Reportedly, the company conducted over 1,000 test flights with human passengers, including a 984-foot (300-meter) vertical climb, a weight test carrying over 500 pounds (230 kilograms), a routed test flight covering 9.3 miles (15 kilometers), and a high-speed cruising test that reached 80.7 mph (130 km/h).
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The company tested its vehicle in a variety of weather conditions including typhoon, foggy conditions, and at night.
The aerial vehicle was tested with 40 passengers, including its Chief Executive Officer Huazhi Hu, the company added.
184, which is all electric, can carry a single passenger up to 10 miles or roughly 23 minutes of flight. The person in the cockpit doesn’t do any piloting; they just input their destination and enjoy the ride. The company claims its aircraft is able to take off autonomously, fly a route, sense obstacles, and land. And if anything goes wrong, a human pilot is supposed to step in and take over the controls from a remote command station.