EHang is considered the world’s leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) platform and continues to expand its implementation of urban air mobility (UAM) in Europe by their latest pilot city partnership with Linz, Austria.
EHang is joined by aerospace solutions company, FACC and LINZ AG, a multi-utility provider, which have proven expertise in public transportation and charging infrastructure. The three parties plan to make Linz a UAM pilot city. Their plan is to join passenger flights and drone delivery with drone taxis throughout the city of Linz. They will start construction on an infrastructure of vertiports, in 2021, while they plan to also start trial flights “in the near future.” They plan to design routes that make it possible to travel over uninhabited areas to vertiports.
A EHang press release states:
“In the course of the trial flight, various aspects will be carefully studied, including the practicality of implementation in urban areas, acceptance by the populace and the expected positive impact on the environment, and more. The project will be led by joint efforts from each partner bringing in their specific expertise. The public service aspect will also be considered, as UAM is not only about purchasing aircraft by private customers. Rather, public benefits are paramount, with a focus on integration into an overall transportation plan.”*
Huazhi Hu, EHang Founder, Chairman and CEO said,
“We will implement the whole value chain that is necessary for UAM operations, as well as demonstrate passenger experience journeys, as well. Bookings systems, boarding processes and aftermarket service questions will play a role. In the course of the end-to-end process we will also be able to learn and improve our solutions on the go. We need to start thinking about implementation today, parallel to the ongoing regulatory processes as both will benefit from each other. Last, but not least, we want to involve the people and let them touch, feel and experience UAM as far as possible today.”*
The press release explains:
“Growing urban population is causing serious traffic jams in major cities around the world. Protecting the air and eliminating CO2 emissions is giving birth to Urban Air Mobility, a new solution to transporting passengers or goods with autonomous aerial vehicles within, or between, cities.”*
This project of the implementation of urban air mobility in Austria is probably the first such implementation in Europe. EHang has announced that he has other cities in mind for similar projects in the near future, in countries such as Spain and China.
Future
EHang’s concern for traffic jams and the quality of the air, as a result, in major cities around the world is exemplary, and so is his vision and future implementation of urban air mobility in Spain and China in the future.
