With a Modular Design and Unmatched Battery Life, the Highdra Provides Price-Efficient Flexibility for Surveying, Filming, and Mapping Tasks
by DRONELIFE Employees Author Ian J. McNabb
German drone developer Starcopter not too long ago unveiled the Highdra, a 6-rotor commercial-focused UAV bought by way of an modern flight-hours pricing mannequin that makes it one of the crucial cost-effective, highly effective options accessible available on the market. DroneLife received up shut and private with the Starcopter at INTERGEO, the place the Braunschweig-based firm described the Highdra and gave DroneLife some insights into what makes them totally different from their opponents.
With a singular, automotive-inspired 6-battery array system and structure, Starcopter advertises its unmatched cost lifetime, holding the Highdra airloft even after many opponents would flip their batteries into e-waste. Add in totally tool-less dis-and-re-assembly and a compact design that may match into the trunk of a automobile, and the Highdra appears completely designed for a variety of functions, particularly contemplating its versatile, mission-driven modular payload system.
Whereas they’re nonetheless slightly cagey on technical specs, together with weight and flight time, DroneLife was instructed the Highdra is able to a variety of surveying, filming, and mapping functions.
Based on their web site, “We don’t only develop the latest drone technology, but also offer a selection of state-of-the-art sensors as the payload. Whether the latest lidar from CHCNAV or a 150MP camera from PhaseOne or an infrared camera from Workswell – your application defines the sensor.”
As a substitute of creating the German-made Highdra accessible as a standalone product, Starcopter has honed in on a drone-as-a-service mannequin, pricing per-project. With their very own pilots, drones, and sensor pods, as a substitute of buying an (extraordinarily) costly business drone for an organization, Starcopter took inspiration from airplane engines, which aren’t priced per-unit, as a substitute being priced by flight hour. This makes the Highdra an ideal resolution for corporations that don’t at all times want a drone, however might use one for sure initiatives.
Based on the staff DroneLife talked to in Stuttgart, they put their minimal pricing all the way down to round €100 per flight hour (round $110), placing a strong UAV into the palms of shoppers at an unmatched worth level. Extra particular mission pricing is obtainable upon request.
For extra data on Starcopter and the Highdra, click on right here.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, knowledgeable drone providers market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory atmosphere for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles centered on the business drone area and is a world speaker and acknowledged determine within the trade. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising for brand spanking new applied sciences.
For drone trade consulting or writing, Electronic mail Miriam.
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