The autonomous aircraft can reach 90 stories and carries six extinguishing bombs and almost 40 gallons of foam
Source: Ehang Holdings
EHang Holdings Limited launched a large-payload intelligent aerial firefighting solution. Based on its flagship product, this new firefighting version of EHang 216, EHang 216F is specially designed for high-rise firefighting.
With hundreds of thousands of high-rise buildings in China, the company believes the EHang 216F can become essential equipment for thousands of fire stations across China and eventually those around the world.
With a maximum flight altitude of 600 meters, the 216F can carry up to 150 liters of firefighting foams and six fire extinguisher bombs in a single trip. The 216F uses a visible light zoom camera to quickly identify the location of fire; it then 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. Multiple 216Fs can be deployed to rapidly extinguish the fire.
EHang’s Founder, Chairman and CEO Huazhi Hu said, “We are pleased to introduce the EHang 216F AAV aerial firefighting solution, which solves difficult challenges in high-rise firefighting. 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.”
“Firefighting and rescue is a race against death. By taking advantage of the rapid response and centralized management of the EHang AAV platform, we can greatly improve the effectiveness of our efforts,” said by Weiqiang Chen, the head of a fire station in Yunfu. “EHang’s intelligent aerial firefighting solution can effectively solve difficult problems in fighting high-rise fires. This complements existing firefighting systems and will improve society’s ability to respond to emergencies.”
EHang 216Fs are expected to be deployed in urban fire stations to assist in firefighting within a 5 km radius. EHang’s autopilot and centralized management technologies enable a fleet of EHang 216Fs to be remotely dispatched for first response even before the firefighters arrive. This significantly shortens response time and can reduce casualties.