VIDEO | This mega-drone puts farmers in the pilot’s seat
Ryse Aero Technologies, a ultralight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company, showed its all-electric aerial ATV called Recon at the CES show in Las Vegas. This mega-drone is designed to make flight accessible for all regardless of skill level or pilot’s certification.
Recon is aimed at the agricultural sector. Farmers can fly over their land with it and use if for crop scouting and inspecting of their land. The aerial ATV will cost around 150,000 EUR (160,800 USD).
The aerial ATV Recon is powered by six electric motors, the carbon-blade propellers spin at 2,000 rpm. The six electric rotors use removable battery packs that can be taken out for charging.
With full batteries, it can be flown for about 25 minutes, with a top speed of 63 mph (101 km/h). An AI system keeps the machine steady when hovering even in winds as high as 25 mph. The aerial ATV optical LIDAR for laser-based obstacle avoidance.
45 minutes of training
Ryse Aero Technologies claims that with as little as 45 minutes of training a user can be in the air. The company has already let farmers test the aircraft. It plans to build 100 machines in 2023, and 1,000 in 2024.
On a farm, the Recon aircraft could replace an ATV or utility vehicle, and farmers could use it for crop scouting.
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