Sony unveils new battery charging station for Airpeak S1 drone

Sony Electronics has developed a new battery charging station for the Airpeak S1 drone. Available later this month at a suggested retail price of $2,900, the battery station will provide convenient storage and transportation of up to 10 Airpeak S1 battery packs, while offering fast charging for eight battery packs (four at a time).

Unveiling the drone accessory at CES 2023, Sony explained it was also developing a new battery pack to help with longer flight time as well as an RTK (Real-time Kinematic) kit with a base station. Yang Chang, vice president for imaging solutions at Sony Electronics, said:

The new Airpeak Battery Station will provide customers with fast and efficient charging to reduce downtime and help keep Airpeak flying all day. This release in addition to our development announcement demonstrates our commitment to not only enhancing the system for aerial photographers and cinematographers but expanding the system’s capabilities for industrial applications.

Read: Sony adds new features to Airpeak S1 drone with software update

Sony’s new drone battery station includes built-in charging cables for two remote controllers and comes equipped with three standard auxiliary power outlet accessory sockets for easy charging of mobile devices, cameras, and other USB accessories.

There are two battery charging modes available depending on the needs of the drone operator. The first is a “Quick” mode for shorter charging time, which will charge up to four LBP-HS1 battery packs from about 20% to 90% in approximately 30 minutes. The other is the “Full” mode, which will charge up to four LBP-HS1 battery packs from about 0% to 100% in approximately 55 minutes or from about 20% to 100% in 50 minutes. A built-in fan automatically cools the batteries.

There’s also a discharge mode to help with the safe storage and air transportation of the drone batteries. According to Sony, up to eight battery packs can be discharged simultaneously whether the battery station power is on or off. For long-term storage, 50% mode can be used. It takes approximately 17 hours for the batteries to discharge from 100% to 50%. For air transportation, the 25% mode is recommended, which takes approximately 27 hours to discharge the batteries from about 100% to 25%.

The battery station goes on sale on January 19, 2023.

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