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MEGADRONE big enough to carry a passenger would you ride in one?

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posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 01:55 AM
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These would be self flying passenger Megadrone's that would fly people from place to place. I have to say, I would fly in one. This looks really cool and could be a fun experience. You just tap your destination into an app and the Megadrone takes you there.


A Chinese drone maker has revealed a giant quadcopter big enough to fit a passenger. EHang claims to be building the world's first 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' for transporting people. Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas and called the 184, the all-electric vehicle has four arms with a total of eight propellers at the end. 'You know how it feels to sit in a Ferrari? This is 10 times better,' George Yan, co-founder of Ehang said in an interview with DailyMail.com.

The company says the 184 is autonomous, so all the passenger has to do is enter in their destination in the smartphone app, sit back, and let the drone take over.

There's no option to take control of the 184 remotely. The cockpit is empty, apart from a stand to place a smartphone or tablet and a cup holder.

'I think in all of us there is that little kid in all of us that says I want to fly,' said Yan. 'I don’t want to get a pilot license after five or 10 hours of flying, I want to do it right away. We’re making that dream happen.'


www.dailymail.co.uk...









The Megadrone will travel short to medium distances at 60 MPH. Will you ride in one?



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:05 AM
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The whole "not having control" thing would get to me. I think that it is absolutely necessary to take control away from the passenger, as they could basically drop bombs out the window or fly it into a house, but I don't think I could ever relinquish the idea of control and feel comfortable.

Cool as hell tech though right?




posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:07 AM
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Zaph knows way more about things that fly than I do. I would defer to his judgement...I think I remember him not being a fan of spinny blade things LOL.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:08 AM
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I think these could actually be really cool someday, however, battery technology will need a hugely massive breakthrough before they become remotely feasible.

For one, pilots are taught to land with a 45 minute reserve of fuel at a minimum. If this thing travels at 60mph (from the article) and has a range of 10 mile.. that's like 6-7 minutes of flight time. Talk about cutting it close. Not to mention that those blades are perfect for striking buildings or trees or decapitating people on the ground. (helicopter pilots will actually try to avoid making passengers walk anywhere near their tail rotors if they can help it for these exact reasons)



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:14 AM
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A nice idea indeed and wonderful technology with a smart future ahead...

However :

It would be nice to know what the battery life and distance rate of this drone would be seeing as it is all electric.

They say that it can fly up to 10 miles... what happens when the drone exceeds that distance?

I would also be worried about something going wrong if this drone is controlled simply by ones Smartphone...

Smartphones and apps are so easy to hack nowadays?

And they are thinking of having this commercialised later this year?

2 and a half years seems too much of a short time to R and D a project like this... I prefer to wait.

A nice expensive toy for those that can afford it though...

Kindest

Lags
edit on 7-1-2016 by Lagomorphe because: Crap editing



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:30 AM
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a reply to: neoholographic

I'm aware this progress in technology is unstoppable, but I'm against this trend.

I hear the nextgen pan-EU fighterjet is supposed to be a "manned drone" too... also KMW and Rheinmetall DE want to implement AR-interfaces for their future-systems, and those also have AI...

This is all scary to me, because on the future battlefields, the last call (the free decision of conscience) of the soldier on the ground (or air) might be overwritten by AI, or by remote.

Is this really something we want?



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:31 AM
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If you think about a 10 mile range, that should be good enough for most people to get to work.

I can't see them getting licenced for general use though and would imagine you'd have to hold a pilots licence to use one yourself.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:35 AM
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Being a cessna private pilot, I would love to fly one of these, but I wouldn't do it unless it had manual flight mode available. It is still the coolest looking man made aircraft I have ever seen.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 02:56 AM
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originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
Being a cessna private pilot, I would love to fly one of these, but I wouldn't do it unless it had manual flight mode available. It is still the coolest looking man made aircraft I have ever seen.


Tis a cool looking thing indeed and I would have loved to have one of those in my wifes Christmas stocking last year...

Cripes... the last time I flew a plane it was in a Chipmunk back in the 80s... One of these things made out of mostly wood :



But great fun anway... even with a parachute strapped to ones back that weighed roughly 50 Kgs...

Do you reckon there is space for a parachute in case of problems... Methinks that an ejectable seat is out of the question as one would be splattered all over the cockpit in quite a few seconds...

Kindest

Lags



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 03:00 AM
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That would be awesome, just absolutely awesome... until your neighbor got one, and then the other neighbor, and so on. Then it would suck lol. Traffic is bad enough in two dimensions.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 03:34 AM
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I have to think that landing would be an issue. You wouldn't just be able to go to work and land in a parking spot. There would have to be cordoned off "landing pads" literally everywhere (public) that you would want to go. And then, what if the landing pads were full already?



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 03:39 AM
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a reply to: Lagomorphe

An ejector seat!!!

I spat tea then just at the mental image, think pea in a whistle.




posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 03:46 AM
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a reply to: neoholographic

That is a sweet deal. I'll have to go with two comments already.
1: take the control out of my hands. Not a chance.
2: it's going to need a better battery.

As far as anything else. I live 3 miles in a direct landing/departure of an international airport. So the No Drone Zone applies. But this is cool.


Edit: yes! An ejector seat. I don't see me getting by those blades. And I may not be high enough for a parachute to deploy properly.

edit on 7-1-2016 by Bigburgh because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 03:49 AM
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originally posted by: Jonjonj
a reply to: Lagomorphe

An ejector seat!!!

I spat tea then just at the mental image, think pea in a whistle.



Uncomfortable methinks?

Just as well you spat your tea now... (and alerted my keyboard 'spit, spew,snort or whatever bodily fluid may be ejected/snorted onto ones keyboard or Smartphone key" as I was snorting my own snot at the time all over the place... I am suffering from a severe bought of flu, noserot, cold or Myxomatosis for those that think that I am REALLY a RABBIT?) through my nostrils and chest and nearly choked myself to death...


Kindest

Lags
edit on 7-1-2016 by Lagomorphe because: I am crap at spelling?



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 04:55 AM
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A very cool craft indeed. I believe efficiency and range will improve in the future. Also batteries will get lighter and better. A deploy-able parachute attached to the cabin outside would work. I wouldn't try it without one. Far safer than trying to exit mid-flight. Also manual flight control is a must for me. What if it decides to land on a tree?...power lines, etc. I can't wait for this to be more common.


XL5

posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 05:07 AM
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In my opinion the blades need ducts for more efficiency and they need to be above the cockpit. There is a reason helicopters have the blades above the center of gravity.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 05:40 AM
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originally posted by: XL5
In my opinion the blades need ducts for more efficiency and they need to be above the cockpit. There is a reason helicopters have the blades above the center of gravity.


I would like to see how the pilot/customer can manage to wangle his/her way through 4 motors on each side after being ejected through a plexiglass screen (that will probally smash his/her skull in depending if said customer/pilot is wearing a safety helmet) without having a fingernail or two clipped at the same time?

This is not a helicopter where pilots/passengers can throw themselves from the sides and depend on gravity.

Kindest

Lags



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 06:32 AM
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a reply to: neoholographic

just IMHO - but scrap the batteries - and install turbo- electric powerpack [ a pair of 15kw gas turbines driving 2 alternators - for redundancy // emergency landing capability ]



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 06:47 AM
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originally posted by: Lagomorphe
A nice idea indeed and wonderful technology with a smart future ahead...

However :

It would be nice to know what the battery life and distance rate of this drone would be seeing as it is all electric.

They say that it can fly up to 10 miles... what happens when the drone exceeds that distance?

I would also be worried about something going wrong if this drone is controlled simply by ones Smartphone...

Smartphones and apps are so easy to hack nowadays?

And they are thinking of having this commercialised later this year?

2 and a half years seems too much of a short time to R and D a project like this... I prefer to wait.

A nice expensive toy for those that can afford it though...

Kindest

Lags


What happens after ten miles? You need to talk to your insurance agent to file a claim. Two hundred grand for a basic model is kind of expensive, I would want to have control of it so I could play with it if I spent that much money.



posted on Jan, 7 2016 @ 07:38 AM
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a reply to: neoholographic

Would totally have one but depends on the cost of course and whether it detects oncoming 184's and how it deals with that? It might turn away to avoid that one only to come face to face with another one and I think at that point it would need manual operation or an ejector seat like someone mentioned.







 
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