Chinese Drone Maker Unveils Human-Carrying Drone
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS — Chinese drone maker Ehang Inc. on Wednesday unveiled what it calls the world's first drone capable of carrying a human passenger.

The Guangzhou, China-based company pulled the cloth off the Ehang 184 at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the CES gadget show. In a company video showing it flying, it looks like a small helicopter but with four doubled propellers spinning parallel to the ground like other drones.

The electric-powered drone can be fully charged in two hours, carry up to 220 pounds and fly for 23 minutes at sea level, according to Ehang. The cabin fits one person and a small backpack and even has air conditioning and a reading light. With propellers folded up, it's designed to fit in a single parking spot.

After setting a flight plan, passengers only need to give two commands, "take off" and "land," each controlled by a single click on a Microsoft Surface tablet, the company said.

It is designed to fly about 1,000 to 1,650 feet off the ground with a maximum altitude of 11,500 feet and top speed of 63 miles per hour.

U.S. authorities are just starting to lay out guidelines for drone use, and a human-passenger drone seems certain to face strict scrutiny.

Federal Aviation Administration administrator Michael Huerta was at CES but could not immediately be reached for comment through a spokesman.

Ehang co-founder and Chief Financial Officer Shang Hsiao said the company hopes to sell the device for $200,000 to $300,000 beginning this year but acknowledged it occupies a legal "grey area."

"The whole world never had something like this before," he said.

A passenger would have no controls as a backup, he said. In the event of a problem the company plans a remote control center that would take over the vehicle and ensure it lands safely, he said.

Chief Marketing Officer Derrick Xiong said the vehicle has been flown more than 100 times at low altitudes in a forested area in Guangzhou, including several times with a person inside.

One thing that makes quad-copters safer than helicopters are its numerous propellers, Xiong said. Even if three of the four arms have their six propellers disabled, the final arm's working propellers can ensure a rough landing by spiraling toward the ground, he said.

The company, which also makes smaller drones, said in August it had raised $42 million in capital from various investors including GP Capital, GGV Capital, ZhenFund and others, following $10 million in capital raised the previous year.

中國億航自動駕駛飛機 載人飛上天

中國的無人機製造商億航公司6日推出號稱是世界第一架能夠載人的自動駕駛飛機。

「億航184」自駕機6日在拉斯維加斯會議中心舉行的國際消費電子展（CES）亮相，造型近似小型直升機，但與一般空拍機一樣，有四具和地面平行的雙螺旋槳推進器。

載重100公斤 飛行23分鐘

億航公司表示，電動操控的自駕機可在兩小時內完成充電，能在海平面上載重220磅（100公斤）飛行23分鐘。機艙可以坐進一個人加上一個小背包，艙內有空調設備和閱讀燈。螺旋槳摺疊起來後，可以停進一個普通車位。

乘客只能操作「起飛」、「降落」2指令

公司表示，乘客登機後，只需在微軟界面儀板上按下「起飛」或「降落」兩個指令。自駕機的飛行高度設計在地面上空1000到1650呎（304.8到502.9公尺）之間，最大高度是1萬1500呎，最大速度是每小時63哩（100.8公里）。

美國當局目前才剛開始制定空拍機的規範綱領，載人的自駕機肯定會遇到嚴格的審核。

美國聯邦航空管理局局長惠塔6日也在CES會場，但並未透過發言人表示意見。

億航公司共同創辦人兼財務長蕭尚文說，公司希望今年起開始銷售這款自駕機，每架的價格在20萬到30萬美元之間，但他承認該產品處於法律的「灰色地帶」。他說：「全世界尚未有過類似的產品。」

他說，乘客沒有備用的操控裝置可以使用，操作出現狀況時，公司將安排遙控中心接管自駕機，以確保安全著陸。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/01/06/us/ap-us-gadget-show-human-passenger-drone.html

2016-01-07．聯合晚報．A6．國際焦點．編譯陳澄和