If you want to feel like you have “travelled to the future”, or “are in a sci-fi movie”, then you’re going to want to check this out.

In 2016 a Chinese drone maker attended International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and promised it would “build a completely autonomous vehicle to carry people or cargo,” reports Quartz.

Those in attendance doubted it would be able to overcome the technical obstacles, and possible regulations brought caution.

But now, two years later, the Guangzhou-based drone manufacturer Ehang has announced that it’s closer than ever to turning the idea into a reality.

Now, we know how this kind of stuff might usually bore you, but the video released by Ehang should get something going inside of you:

According to the video, Ehang has completed flying tests with over 40 passengers, including the company’s CEO Hu Huazhi and several government officials in Guangzhou.

Through those tests, the aggregated data looks something like this:

The drone can carry a single person at up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, including when a No. 7 typhoon hits—a gust level strong enough to make it hard to walk (link in Chinese). It can also navigate through heavy fog.

In the over 1,000 flying tests, the Ehang climbed to 300 meters and also carried a person weighing 118 kilos (250 pounds) for 23 minutes. The model can run for about half an hour on an hour’s charge, according to Ehang’s website, and costs about $200,000 to $300,000 to produce.

Once boarded, a passenger will see a control center display in front of their seat. It allows a passenger to adjust floodlights and the cockpit’s temperature, and select a location on the map before setting the drone to fly. The model is also equipped with a fail-safe system—if the components malfunction or disconnect, the drone will land in the nearest viable area.

Keen? Ehang has announced that the final commercial product should be on the market within a year, and are using 2018 to attract more dealers and partners to “bring the model to the world”:

“When we fly Ehang 184 all over the world in 2018, I believe people will see that we are so close to the world in sci-fi films,” Hu said in the video.

Anything to beat Cape Town’s traffic, hey?

[source:qz]