The world's first drone capable of autonomously flying a passenger for 23 minutes has been approved for further testing in the state of Nevada, the United States.

The electric "Ehang-184" passenger drone was released in Las Vegas this January by Ehang, a Chinese company based in the country's southern province of Guangdong.

Tom Wilczek, an aerospace and defense specialist from the Governor's Office of Economic Development in Nevada, said through the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, the state would help guide Ehang through the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regulatory process with the ultimate goal of achieving safe flight.

Ehang hopes to begin testing later this year and will have to prove airworthiness to the FAA before operating in a bigger scale.

The company's CEO Hu Huazhi said it would promote the drone's commercialization in the future and fuel the autonomous civil aviation industry.

Passengers using the "Ehang-184" enter a destination into the drone's linked smartphone app. It takes off vertically, flying at up to 100kmph.

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