On Friday, China-based EHang, a passenger drone company, has announced the launch of their innovative EHang 216F, a fire-fighting drone specifically designed to fight high-rise fires.
Last week, the company hosted a live event demonstrating the 216F putting out a fire. At altitudes of up to 600 feet, it can carry up to 150 liters, about 40 gallons, of firefighting foam and 6 fire extinguisher bombs in one trip.
Using a visible-light zoom camera to quickly identify the fire location, the 216F “hovers precisely in position and uses a laser aiming device to fire (in succession) a window breaker, the fire extinguishing ‘bombs’ and then a full-range spray of firefighting foam,” according to an Ehang press release. “Multiple 216Fs can be deployed to rapidly extinguish the fire.”
EHang went public last year and has announced first-quarter results with year-over-year revenue results.
“We are pleased to introduce the EHang 216F AAV aerial firefighting solution, which solves difficult challenges in high-rise firefighting,” EHang’s Founder, Chair, and CEO Huazhi Hu said in a statement. “The high-rise fire use case highlights the practical application of our passenger-grade AAV platform to different smart city management needs. The potential of our intelligent AAV technology platform is boundless. We will explore and develop more aerial solutions and use cases to empower smart cities.”
From air taxis to firefighting drones AAV’s can do it all
Since January when EHang conducted the first FAA-approved trial flight in North Carolina, the autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company has been broadening its applications.
