Aerial vehicle firm EHang has partnered with Vodafone to collaborate on building an urban air mobility (UAM) ecosystem.
EHang. which says its company mission is to make safe. autonomous and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone. plans to establish this system first in Germany and across Europe at a later date.
The deal will see Vodafone provide connectivity to all EHang Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAV) operating in Europe by equipping them with Vodafone SIM cards. allowing individual passenger and logistics AAVs to communicate with air traffic control centres as well as with each other EHang pilots.
EHang Founder. Chairman and CEO Hu Huazhi said: Every AAV requires digital connectivity to ensure the coordination of air traffic. so fast networks like 5G are critical to enabling sustainable pilotless air travel and freight delivery systems.
5G is also a key infrastructure component for the commercial deployment of AAVs since it enables take-offs and landings that are precisely controlled within centimetres.
EHang and Vodafone also intend to collaborate on AAV test flights in the future.