Concept: China’s autonomous aerial vehicle technology startup EHang has partnered with real estate company Greenland Hong Kong Holdings to launch its own autonomous urban air mobility services (UAM) for tourists. Aerial sightseeing and aerial media displays are among the trial services, which will be implemented in one of the partners’ tourism real estate projects. The company plans to cooperate with Greenland Hong Kong in the future to offer airborne tourist services in additional cities utilizing its AAV (autonomous aerial vehicle).

Nature of Disruption: EHang will offer an aerial sightseeing program along with aerial media shows that will be rolled out in Forest Lake, a tourism real estate project carried out by Greenland Hong Kong’It is a popular tourist destination city in Guangdong, China. The location has different types of tourism attractions, including seven natural lakes and wetlands covering over three million square meters. EHang will use its autonomous air vehicle ‘EH216’ to carryout out tourists for aerial sightseeing. EH216 is an electric passenger-grade air vehicle that uses point-to-point direct flight, which the startup claims to be safer, more efficient, and carbon emission-free. It is specially designed for low-altitude flying, which enables passengers to clearly witness their surroundings as they fly.

Outlook: EHang initially developed autonomous air vehicles for eco-friendly urban transport in smart cities. But it is expanding its horizon by tapping opportunities in the tourism sector and launching low-altitude aerial sightseeing services using its air vehicle. The startup has plans to develop a new use case model of ‘urban air mobility + leisure tourism’ in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and expand it to international tourist destinations in the future.

This article was originally published in Verdict.co.uk