Nauru 500C drone maps up to 16,000 ha in one flight

Drone usage is revolutionising farms across the world and companies strive to fulfill the needs of producers. The XMobots Nauru 500C is designed for mapping and surveillance especially over large properties thanks to features as flight autonomy, hybrid operation, connectivity and cameras.

16,000 ha in one go

Recently released in Brazil, during Drone Show in São Paulo, the equipment allows flights of up to 4 hours, while covering 16,000 ha in one go. Those numbers are ensured under conditions such as 1,300 meters of altitude, 30º degrees and average windspeed of 18 km/h.

“This is the greatest capacity of all Brazilian civil drones. Nauru is perfect for breaking barriers”, according to Thatiana Miloso, commercial director of XMobots. The company operates in the Brazilian market since 2007 and is one of the most important developers and manufacturers of drones in the country.

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The Nauru 500C was developed and produced by XMobots, a leader in the Brazilian drone market. Photos – XMobots

2,400 farms larger than 10,000 hectares

According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute for Statistics), Brazil has 2,400 farms larger than 10,000 hectares, which cover a combined total of 51,8 million hectares for agriculture, livestock and original vegetation. Thus, that is an interesting solution for big players in soy, maize, sugar cane, cotton and even cattle, among others.

This drone weights 25 kg, is able to face winds of 60 km/h per hour and achieves 90 km/h of cruise speed. Its maximum speed is 110 km/h and it can reach an altitude of over 1,300 meters.

“Due to its high covering capacity, Nauru targets large farms, either private groups or private producers. Crops such as sugar cane, grains and forestry have been the most demanded to that technology”, says Thatiana Miloso.

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Vertical take-off and landing and fixed-wing design

The Nauru 500C combines the ability to take-off and land vertically (VTOL) with a fixed-wing design. This hybrid engineering makes for easy take-offs and landings, just like with a small multirotor drone, whilst it has the larger flying range of a fixed wing drone. “Nauru does not need a runway for landing or take-off, which can be a hurdle. In other words, it combines the best of both worlds”, says Miloso.

Regarding images , this tool offers mapping sensors usage (2 24mm Pixels cameras equipped with 30mm fixed-lens RGB), or 2 Multispectral cameras (R, G, B, Nir and RedEdge with 24mm Pixels and 30mm fixed-lens) in order to provide great accuracy (within centimeters) without control points.

XMobots provides further details about the Nauru 500C image system. They use a direct connection to GNSS Trimble bases (Global Navigation Satellite System) as well a surveillance system with stabiliser gimbals and real time transmission of videos on RGB and Thermal spectra with 640×480 resolution.

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The drone is able to cover up till 16,000 ha in just one flight. The Nauru 500C is a hybrid: it’s a fixed-wing drone, but – thanks to its rotors mounted on the wings – also able to take off and land vertically, which makes it easier to use.

Connectivity

Connectivity is pivotal for that. Nauru adopts an antenna and radio signal in order to reach at least 30 km, however, its maximum range can increase to 60 km under favourable weather conditions. Its primary frequency is homologated by XMobots and functions on 925 MHz. Further communications, as RTK base transmissions to the control station, use WiFi technology.

Prices start at R$ 338,000 (80,000 euros) and can go up to R$ 770,000 (182,000 euros) depending on the specifications. “The first Nauru 500C will be delivered to a client in August and we have a further 4 scheduled for delivery in 2019 for now. The product has been launched end of June”, says Thatiana Miloso.