Autonomous Flight Stories September 18
GET (Global Energy Transmission), a US C-corporation with an engineering center in Russia has developed an inductive charging system that powers up drone batteries mid-flight, allowing them to stay in the air for an indefinite amount of time. Although this appears to be in the early stages of development, it works really well delivering 25 minutes of flight in 6 minutes.
Autonomous Flight Stories September 13
Any drone pilot knows that navigating through tight spaces is tough. Consumer grade drones developed by companies like Skydio and DJI now have the sensors and software that make it possible for their aircraft to dodge obstacles while following a subject, but the team behind the GapFlyt project is upping the ante.
Autonomous Flight Stories August 12
In an effort to combine the practicality of an airplane with the endurance of a satellite, Airbus has developed the Zephyr, a drone that flies at extremely high altitudes and is powered 100% by solar energy. There are two different variations of the aircraft: Zephyr S, a smaller aircraft that is already in production, and the Zephyr T, a larger scale version that is still in development.
Autonomous Flight Stories July 31
One of the biggest challenges the drone industry faces is flight time. Consumer drones from DJI have touched 30 minutes while high altitude commercial drones like the PHASA-35 plan to stay in the air for years at a time using solar energy. More realistically, drones that fly closer to the ground require the operator to feed new batteries constantly. To combat this, Skysense has developed a creative way to charge and store your aircraft.
Autonomous Flight Stories July 30
The PHASA-35 is a high altitude, long endurance aircraft that is currently in development through a collaborative effort between BAE Systems and Prismatic. The two companies behind this UAV have their eyes set on the long haul with intentions to keep this aircraft airborne for over a year.
Airbus, a French company, has its eyes set on the unmanned aerial vehicle market with their Zephyr high altitude drone. You may be familiar with Airbus as a company who develops passenger aircraft, like the A380 that was recently captured by a drone while taking off, commercial jets, and even helicopters. Their goal is entirely different with this project as the Zephyr S and Zephyr T offer a wide range of possibilities.
