(Guangzhou, February 25, 2020) EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) (“EHang” or the “Company”), the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, announced new progress in implementing real-world Urban Air Mobility (UAM) applications for medical emergency transport uses to combat the coronavirus outbreak in China.
In recent exercises for the prevention and control of coronavirus epidemic organized by the local authorities of Hezhou city in Guangxi province, EHang 216, the two-seat passenger-grade AAV successfully transported medical supplies from Hezhou Square to the Hezhou People’s Hospital, which is 4 kilometers apart, by accurately landing on a 25-story rooftop of the hospital.
EHang 216 taking off with medical emergency supplies from Hezhou Square
The EHang 216 AAV automatically returned after the delivery. The 8-kilometer round-trip flight operation was unmanned which is critical in current epidemic situation. This has opened up a new opportunity for EHang’s AAVs in immediate UAM applications such as medical emergency transport, which currently largely relies on ambulance cars or helicopters.
EHang 216 landing on the rooftop of a 25-story hospital in Hezhou
More importantly, designed as a passenger-grade AAV, EHang 216 can not only transport medical supplies, but also transport personnel in emergency situations. Edward Xu, EHang’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), took a 4-kilometer autonomous flight from the city center and landed safely on the rooftop of the hospital (picture below) in one of the series of urban passenger-carrying flights to test run this use case in Hezhou, including the flights at nights, with the range covering the whole city (over 15 kilometers) and at a cruising speed as high as 90 kilometers per hour.
Edward Xu, EHang’s CSO, taking an autonomous flight from city center to hospital
"Personally, I’m proud to be one of the passengers to take the initial autonomous flights for medical emergency transport, and enjoyed the safe, fast and smooth journey. In urban emergency situation, this enables people or goods to be transported efficiently across the city in nearly straight-line routes. More importantly, as a passenger, I was free to enjoy my tea and urban scenery during the whole flight as everything was automatically piloted,” said Edward. “Such successful flights have demonstrated EHang’s capabilities in delivering safe and high quality AAVs to meet mission-critical demands in real life. We will continue to implement more UAM applications.”
Please watch the video of EHang 216 flight for medical emergency transport in Hezhou:
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About EHang
EHang (Nasdaq: EH) is the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company. Our mission is to make safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone. EHang provides customers in various industries with AAV products and commercial solutions: air mobility (including passenger transportation and logistics), smart city management, and aerial media solutions. As the forerunner of cutting-edge AAV technologies and commercial solutions in the global Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry, EHang continues to explore the boundaries of the sky to make flying technologies benefit our life in smart cities. For more information, please visit www.ehang.com.
