Formerly | Beijing Yi-Hang Creation Science & Technology Co., Ltd. Chinese :北京亿航创世科技有限公司 |
---|---|
Company type | Public |
Nasdaq: EH | |
Industry | Aerospace, Advanced Air Mobility |
Founded | 2014 |
Founder | Huazhi Hu, Yifang (Derrick) Xiong |
Headquarters | Guangzhou, China (headquarters) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Huazhi Hu |
Products | Autonomous aerial vehicles [1] Ghost, Hexacopter, Ehang 184, Ehang 216 |
Number of employees | 233 (2020) |
Website | ehang.com |
Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. is a company based in Guangzhou, China that develops and manufactures autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) and passenger AAVs [2] [3] which have entered service in China for aerial cinematography, photography, emergency response, and survey missions. [4]
EHang announced [5] [6] the Ehang 184, introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2016, as the world's first AAV capable of carrying passengers. [7] [8]
The company announced plans with Dubai's Road & Transportation Agency in 2017 to launch an autonomous flying-taxi service starting in the summer of 2017, but didn't succeed. [9] [10] The company has also worked on a project with Nevada's Institute for Autonomous Systems for an AAV taxi that can transport a single passenger for up to 23 minutes with the EHang 184. [11]
In November 2018, an agreement was signed with the city of Lyon, France, to open a research center there. At the same time, a cooperation agreement was concluded with the Austrian aerospace group FACC to further develop, certify and produce for EHang in Europe as well. [12]
On December 12, 2019 EHang was listed on the NASDAQ with the symbol EH. [13] On March 18, 2020, EHang decided to go into a strategic partnership with Llíria, a Spanish city, using the marketing term urban air mobility. This includes tourism as well as logistics. The City Council and EHang will also work with the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency. Llíria is the second city in Spain where EHang has an agreement. [14]
The EH216-S was approved for commercial flights by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in October 2023.
Ghost is a quadcopter developed by Ehang in a typical quadrotor layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. However, Ghost has an unusual feature: the rotors are mounted below the tips of the arms, instead of being mounted on top of the tips of the arms like most other multirotors. Ghost is mainly intended for aerial photography missions, and it is controlled by a smartphone. Its complete name is Ghost Intelligent Aerial Robot (Chinese :Ghost智能空中机器人; pinyin :Ghost zhìnéng kōngzhōng jīqìrén). [15]
Data from mobile geeks [16]
General characteristics
Performance
Ehang Hexacopter is a UAV developed by Ehang and it has not yet been named. The existence of this hexacopter was revealed for the first time to the public when it made its public debut in August 2014 at TechCrunch Beijing. [17] The yet-to-be-named hexacopter is constructed of carbon fiber composite material with a pair of skids as landing gear. The arms of this hexacopter are curved, as opposed to the straight arms of most multi-rotors currently on the market. The hexacopter is controlled by laptop computer. [17]
Data from engadget [17]
General characteristics
Performance
EHang 184 | |
---|---|
Passenger drone | |
Role | Personal air vehicle PAV |
National origin | China |
Manufacturer | EHang |
Designer | EHang Holdings Limited |
First flight | 2016 [5] |
Introduction | 2014 |
Status | Unknown |
Primary user | China |
The EHang 184 is an autonomous passenger drone capable of reaching over 62 mph (100 km/h). EHang says it started carrying passengers in 2015 and since made 40 journeys till releasing footage in February 2018. In three years, more than 1,000 test flights were conducted, including some "violent" ones with dummies, in storm-force winds, in low visibility, at night and 1,000 ft (300 m) above the ground. [18] It has eight propellers on four arms and by July 2018, 30 to 40 single pilot EHang 184 have been built. [19]
Data from Electric VTOL News [20] and AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY [21]
General characteristics
Performance
The 216 is a two-seater with 16 propellers in a coaxial double-baled design. It has made over 1,000 manned flights by July 2018 and its maximum range flown was 8.8 km (5.5 miles). [19] It can fly 25 min for a range of 30–40 km (16–22 nmi). The aircraft is targeted for autonomous flying, to be monitored from an EHang or its customer command-and-control center. Austrian aerostructures supplier FACC AG partnered with EHang to certify and produce the aircraft in Europe, within simpler certification requirements for takeoff weights below 600 kg (1,320 lb). [22]
In October 2018, the CAAC approved initial passenger operations at specific locations to develop urban air taxis regulations. EHang began taking preorders since, for island-hopping and to a Chinese coastal resort for aerial sightseeing within their site. A 1 km (0.54 nmi) shuttle across the river of its home city of Guangzhou should avoid a 30 min drive due to traffic congestion on the downtown bridge. US biotechnology company United Therapeutics, manufacturing organs for human transplants, should test rapid automated delivery from laboratory to hospital by the end of 2019. [22]
In March 2020, the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority issued a permit for manned test and certification flights. It is the first such approval in Europe. [23]
On May 27, 2020, EHang obtained the world's first commercial pilot operation approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”) to use EHang 216 passenger-grade AAVs for air logistics purpose. [24] The EHang 216 received a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) from Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) for test flights in Québec, Canada. [25]
Data from Electric VTOL News [26]
General characteristics
Performance
This version expands range to 32 kilometres (20 mi), using a 17 kWh battery. Its cruising speed is 60 mph. [27]
The EHang 216F is a version that can be used to fight fires from the air, especially in high-rise buildings. The maximum flight height is 600 m, it can carry up to 150 L of fire extinguishing. With a camera the fire is localized independently. [28]
The NAL Saras is the first Indian multi-purpose civilian aircraft in the light transport aircraft category as designed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
The Bell X-22 is an American V/STOL X-plane with four tilting ducted fans. Takeoff was to selectively occur either with the propellers tilted vertically upwards, or on a short runway with the nacelles tilted forward at approximately 45°. Additionally, the X-22 was to provide more insight into the tactical application of vertical takeoff troop transporters such as the preceding Hiller X-18 and the X-22's successor, the Bell XV-15. Another program requirement was a true airspeed in level flight of at least 525 km/h.
The PAC P-750 XSTOL, is a utility aircraft of conventional all-metal low-wing monoplane design, with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Combining the engine and wings of the PAC Cresco with a new larger fuselage and modified tail, all versions to date have been powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop. It is designed and manufactured in Hamilton, New Zealand, by Pacific Aerospace Limited.
The Urban Aeronautics X-Hawk is a proposed flying car designed by Rafi Yoeli in Yavne, Israel, being built by Metro Skyways Ltd., a subsidiary of Yoeli's privately held company, Urban Aeronautics. The firm claims to have flown the car to a height of 90 cm (3 ft), and that greater heights are possible. The X-Hawk and its smaller unmanned version, the Tactical Robotics Cormorant, would be used in search and rescue operations where a helicopter would be useless, or at least very dangerous, such as evacuating people from the upper stories of burning buildings, or delivering and extracting police and soldiers while very close to structures, narrow streets, and confined spaces, with a projected size similar to that of a large van.
The LaBiche Aerospace FSC-1, a.k.a. LaBiche 460sc, is a prototype roadable aircraft.
A passenger drone is an autonomous aircraft that is designed to carry a small number of passengers to a destination.
Urban air mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.
The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH. A seven-seat production version is planned.
The Eviation Alice is an electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. First developed in Israel, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail. The prototype first flew on 27 September 2022.
The Airbus CityAirbus is a multinational project by Airbus Helicopters to produce an electrically powered VTOL personal air vehicle demonstrator. It is intended for the air taxi role, to avoid ground traffic congestion.
The Airbus Vahana was an electric-powered eight-propeller VTOL personal air vehicle prototype, or eVTOL, financed by A³, by Airbus and Airbus Urban Mobility. The Vahana project started in 2016 as one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley. Airbus "envision[s] Vahana being used by everyday commuters as a cost-comparable replacement for short-range urban transportation like cars or trains". It was planned to be a part of urban air mobility. The project was finished in December 2019.
The SureFly is a two-seat hybrid eVTOL aircraft designed by American truck-manufacturer Workhorse Group, before the program was bought by Moog Inc. for $5 million in December 2019.
The Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) is an American electrical powered autonomous personal air vehicle prototype developed by the Boeing NeXt division of Boeing with the assistance of Aurora Flight Sciences.
The Boeing Cargo Air Vehicle is an unmanned, autonomously flying, fully electric cargo air vehicle (CAV). It was made possible by an investment of Boeing HorizonX Ventures.
An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about owing to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for urban air mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.
The Wisk Cora, also known as Generation 4 and Generation 5, is an American autonomous personal air vehicle prototype previously developed by the Kitty Hawk Corporation, and subsequently by Wisk Aero.
The Pipistrel Nuuva V300 is an unmanned hybrid-electric VTOL cargo aircraft currently under development by Pipistrel and projected to be released in 2023. The aircraft has eight electric motors driving propellers providing lift as well as a single internal combustion engine driving a propeller providing thrust. The company claims that the aircraft will be able to operate with a typical cargo weight of 300 kg (661 lb) and a typical range of 300 km (162 nmi). In October 2020 the company announced that the aircraft would implement a Honeywell fly-by-wire system.
Advanced air mobility (AAM) are systems that incorporate support for next-generation transport such as such as remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This includes those powered by electric or hybrid-electric propulsion.
The VoloCity is an electrically powered aircraft that can fly autonomously and take off and land vertically. It is produced by the German manufacturer Volocopter and is its first series model.
TCab Technology Co., Ltd. is a company based in Shanghai, China that develops and manufactures electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The name "TCab" stands for "time taxi." The company produces zero-emission eVTOL aircraft for public use in advanced air mobility (AAM) air ridesharing services.