A French company known for designing drones for specific uses, like shooting 360-degree video for virtual reality, is now taking on a specific invasive species. Drone Volt has introduced the Drone Spray Hornet to locate and destroy the nests of Asian hornets that are becoming a nuisance in parts of Europe.
The Asian Hornet is believed to have arrived in France in a shipment of pottery over a decade ago, and has since spread itself over much of the country and other European regions. The predatory wasp preys on a variety of insects, including bees and other native pollinators. The species is also known to defend its nests by attacking perceived threats in swarms.
Drone Volt collaborated with a beekeeper to develop a drone equipped with a tilting spray system and a Go Pro Hero 4 Black Edition HD camera to safely track down and eliminate the hornet nests. The company says Drone Spray Hornet complies with existing laws in France and should be legal to fly, even in cities.
A few of the basic specs on the quadcopter include a weight of about 3 kg (7 lb), a payload capacity of up to a 750 ML aerosol can of insecticide, emergency parachute in the case of failure, and battery life of 9 to 18 minutes depending on the number of batteries onboard. An optional guidance and obstacle detection module is also in the works.
You can see the Drone Spray Hornet in action in the video below:
Source: Drone Volt
