Austrian company Drone Rescue will demonstrate new parachutes for multicopter drones to bring them down to Earth safely should they hit trouble. As well as seeing the drone safely down, it's hoped the chutes will prevent people being hurt as drones become more widespread.
The DRS-5 and DRS-10 parachute modules will be demonstrated publicly at the Intergeo 2018 in Frankfurt on Tuesday. Though similar in design, the DRS-5 and DRS-10 are built for drones of different size. The DRS-5 can support drones of up to 8 kg (18 lb) and the DRS-10 is built for drones between 5 and 20 kg (11 and 44 lb).
Though according to the company the DRS-5 is being demonstrated for the first time, it has been evident on Drone Rescue's YouTube channel and Facebook page for over a year.
Both models are made up of a carbon cage which houses the parachute, along with sensors and controls which work independently of the drone. The technology can detect when a drone is in trouble and deploy the parachute electronically within milliseconds of a problem arising – a potential boon in the event the pilot has lost radio contact with the drone. When deploying, the technology cuts the drone's motors to make sure its rotors don't cut the parachute's lines, or hurt people once the drone lands.
In addition to the main parachutes, Drone Rescue has also announced the DRS-M600 (pictured above), a variant of the DRS-10 tailored specifically to the popular DJI Matrice 600 (M600) drone.
The system incorporates a Black Box flight data recorder, which monitors GPS data as well as the altitude and acceleration of the drone. Curiously, the data is provided via an online service offered by Drone Rescue. The company cites potential insurance claim as the main use for the Black Box and its data.
"Our system has the advantage that it manages completely without explosive, pyrotechnical solutions," Drone Rescue Andreas Ploier explains in a press release. "Consequently we have a system that is considerably lighter, and functions even in a worst case scenario." This means that, having deployed, the modules don't need any parts to be replaced. It's simply a case of re-packing the parachute, which Drone Rescue claims is the work of a few minutes.
Drone Rescue has been working with Joanneum Aeronautics of Graz, Austria in testing the DRS-5 with drones of under 4 kg (9 lb). In all 100 tests, the parachute successfully deployed and the drone landed safely, the press release says. The parachutes are due to ship to their first customers in the final months of 2018.
Drone Rescue's parachutes will be on show at the Intergeo from tomorrow until October 18. You can see an older video of the DRS-5 in action below.
Source: Drone Rescue
