A Chinese company is promising anyone can be a pilot in a new drone designed to carry a person.
They're planning to bring it here to New Zealand, but the concept may never get off the ground.
Eight blades, one passenger and no trained pilot – this could be the future of personal transportation.
The Ehang 184 is the latest innovation in the fast-growing world of drone technology.
Unveiled last week to crowds in Las Vegas, it could soon be much closer to home.
The company claims it has already conducted 100 successful manned test flights.
The key selling point is no training is required – just choose your destination and the drone does the rest.
But the concept may never fly in New Zealand. First it needs approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
"We have to make sure that whatever flies in New Zealand airspace is safe for the people on the ground or for the people in the aircraft," says CAA general manager Steve Moore.
Initial observations cast the company's claims that anyone could fly into serious doubt. If the passenger inside the aircraft can manipulate what the aircraft does, then really they're no longer a passenger. They're part of a crew operating that aircraft, so they'll have to have some kind of qualifications as well.
One of New Zealand's biggest drone manufacturers is working on its own autonomous aircraft. Its founder says it's no easy task.
"It's really important that when you do those autonomous flight missions that you detect what else is in the air and there's no collisions with anything else," says Linda Bulk, Aeronavics CEO.
But it may be a question of when, not if.
"I think ultimately it's just a matter of time," says Ms Bulk. "If we're looking at full-size aircraft, passenger aircraft, they're pretty much autonomous already."
So while for now the idea's still grounded, pilot-less flight could be just over the horizon.
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