We've seen a lot of autonomous aircraft taking test flights lately, as air travel has been touted as the next-generation solution for urban transportation. But most of them are still in the early stages of design.
Passenger Drone is one of the companies that recently unveiled its designs for its two-seater prototype aircraft. The craft is slightly larger than a small car and features 16 independent electric motors for zero-emission air travel.
Its craft has an advantage over some of its larger and better-known competitors, which include companies like Airbus and Uber. Unlike many other VTOL designs, the Passenger Drone has already conducted test flights with real passengers.
The company says the first manned flights took place in August. Passengers were able to manually control the craft using a joystick and touchscreen, or let the computer fly it autonomously. The Passenger Drone is estimated to have a range of about 20 miles, with a top speed of 50 mph, according to Electrek.
The vehicle didn't go very high, nor did it travel far beyond its immediate area – but the test flight was just a first step.
Along with automatic and manual control options, Passenger Drone says the crafts can be operated remotely from long distances (such as from the EU to North America) via a 4G network.
The company told Electrek that it plans to announce more information at next year's CES conference.
