Ehang

Although we may like to imagine "air taxis" picking us up wherever we want, the fact is they will likely be limited to specific landing locations. With that in mind, Chinese air mobility company EHang has announced plans for a "vertiport" in Italy.

Chinese air mobility company EHang has completed three test flights in South Korea to show off the passenger transport, emergency response and air tourism potential of its all-electric two-passenger autonomous aerial vehicle, the EHang 216.

So far, much of the development focus of China's EHang has been on providing air taxi and air tourism services, but now the air mobility company has launched a firefighting version of its two-person multi-rotor flying pod.

Just last month, air mobility company EHang announced plans to fly into Europe and set up shop in Seville, Spain. Now the firm has partnered with the City of Hezhou in Guangxi Province, China, to build a tourism-focused terminal for its air taxis.

Back in January, China's EHang aced the first flight in the US of its two-seat autonomous air taxi. Now the company has agreed to develop the first Urban Air Mobility pilot program in Seville, Spain.

Earlier this month, Ehang took to the air with its Autonomous Aerial Vehicle for the first flight in the US. Specs on the 216 two-passenger pilotless air taxi were scant at the time, but let's take a closer look now.

Ehang's Autonomous Aerial Vehicle – a multi-rotor drone capable of carrying people – made its first US appearance at CES 2016, and now the company has demonstrated the first flight in the US of its two-seater autonomous air taxi.

Flying taxis still seem very much like something pulled right out of science fiction, but when transport heavyweights like Boeing, Airbus and Uber start pumping millions of dollars into their development, it might be time to take all of this a bit more seriously.

​Ehang has been a little coy about its taxi drone since bringing a grounded prototype to CES in 2016. Today we've gotten our best look yet at the Ehang 184, with footage for the first time showing it carrying out test flights with people onboard.

Dubai ain't a bad place to see advanced technologies in action. In the latest example of the city's early-adoption mindset, the local transport authority has revealed that it has been testing Ehang's personal taxi drone, with plans to launch operations this July.

Last November, Intel famously broke its own record for most drones flying in formation, by setting 500 of the things in coordinated flight at once. Now, the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has set the new high mark, by putting 1,000 quadcopters in the air together.

Many questions remain over how the human-carrying Ehang 184 drone will function in the real world, but at least some of these may soon be answered with the company winning governmental approval to test the vehicle in Nevada airspace. ​