German company microdrones GmbH demonstrated how flexible and important unmanned aircraft systems can be for civil purpose with an adventurous experiment: its type md4-1000 microdrone crossed the Alps via the legendary Gotthard Pass between Hospental and Airolo.
On June 12, a type md4-1000 microdrone managed something that no other quadrocopter has yet been able to achieve: equipped with an HD camera, and in adverse conditions, it set off from Switzerland and crossed the Saint-Gotthard Massif to Italy. The complex record flight, which took almost 25 minutes, was monitored and documented by a professional stunt and film team. Helicopters and many cameras accompanied the md4-1000 on its journey over the Alps. Numerous companies took part in the experiment – including Mercedes-Benz.
“Such a flight is a very complex challenge for a remote-controlled quadrocopter, which requires a long flight time, precision and durability from the microdrone. There are many unpredictable factors. That’s why nobody has had a go at this experiment yet,” explains microdrones CEO Sven Juerss, member of the ground crew, who accompanied the md4-1000 with a Mercedes-Benz SL and GL 63 AMG. “It makes me incredibly proud that we were actually able to do it”, says Juerss shortly after completing the record-flight.
Over 1,600 meters height differences
The md4-1000 flew fully automatically across the entire distance of around 12 kilometres in GPS waypoint mode and avoided power and telephone lines as well as a cable car. To complicate things, it also faced various severe weather conditions in the form of sun and snow influences as well as differences in altitude of more than 1.600 metres. “The varied route will give us fantastic recordings,” reports Juerss. “At one point it was very close. We underestimated the snow at the peak and had to correct the flight path under great time constraints – it nearly turned into a sleigh ride.”
The strong wind also presented a further, almost unpredictable obstacle which became even more intensive due to the temperature differences. “The cold wind practically fell down the mountain on the south side – it’s a bit like doing a halfpipe on a skateboard – except that that skateboard is remote-controlled,” says Juerss.
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The experiment was fastidiously prepared several months beforehand: the route was precisely measured and divided into 18 waypoints, obstacles had to be documented and mapped.
Many companies took part in the preparation and realisation of the project: Daimler AG, for example, made Mercedes-Benz vehicles available. Sony Deutschland, Carl Zeiss AG and the hardware and software developer u-blox also supported the remarkable endurance test.
International experts
“We had a fantastic team here without whom this experiment would not have been possible,” says Juerss. Five flight operators for the launch, ground, air, landing and waypoints monitored the pre-programmed flight. In order to precisely document the record and to produce the best possible pictures, microdrones specially flew in a professional stunt and film crew from the USA. The action professionals, who are usually booked for major blockbuster productions, were impressed by their small, remote-controlled colleague.
The team was rounded off by professional operators for the md4-1000, precision drivers and engineers.microdrones had already set a record at the start of 2012 when the company used a film to document the fact that the md4-1000 can hover in the air for a duration of 88 minutes without outside influences. Juerss explains: “These endurance tests are very important. It is often forgotten that microdrones are often used to help in catastrophes or to further science. And in such cases, endurance, durability and reliability are of paramount importance.”
Source: Press Release
First of all, learn geography … Airolo is in Switzlerand, not in Italy.
I am not sure what the big deal is about this … it is a nice PR stunt .. but in terms of technology … this is just a toy on steroid. There is no real innovation in this.
Endurance in this device is the result of tuned up efficiency and beefed up high efficiency batteries, which is not technology Microdrones owns anyway and something any other quadcopter company can acquire.
Where is the technological innovation in this?
Give me a quadcopter able to navigate through the alps fully independently with anti collision and fully onboard route selection and then there is something new. If the above was accomplished by a group of kids, it would be worth mentioning , but stunt professionals. That’s ridiculous.
So please, give me something worth reading.
I wonder what size battery they used And if there is a solar panel embedded in the cover to aid in recharging ?
looks like they had perfect weather….don’t understand why snow on the ground is a problem for a drone in the air…..
microdrones is always great at making a big fuss around their so called “records”
how about building a drone that can lift more than a small compact cam (like other competitors on the market do for a long time) and adjust their ridiculously high prices to the market reality….o.k. then they might not be able to pay a stunt team from the us anymore
you guys are just a bunch of low budget trolls. one can read out of your comments that you dont have any clue of avionics and engineering. maybe you should comment on those cheap octos that they shouldnt overrate their lifting weight by 500% insted of complaining the safty limit of microdrones. do the math like the other companies: 12kg max. lifting power – droneweight 2650g = 9350g…! that is the max weight it can lift of the ground but then it is as unsafe as all the cheap octos and will fly the same time like 2-5 minutes. they are targeting not the rc nerds like you but the people who need reliable technology!
Well I do not have any knowledge on this field but I see that this article is great. Maybe it is not a big deal but for me it is the first time I read something like this (a radiocommanded quadcopter that lasts more than 20 minutes). I have already payed for a camera (GoPro 3+ Black Edition) and want to buy a quadcopter or tricopter in order to mount the camera on the drone and do aerial filming. I do not know a damn thing about drones; I have to buy a ready to fly drone. Someone on hobbyking.com told me that as I am a beginner I have to buy a Walkera QR X350 because it is simple to fly, and as a beginner I need something simple. The flight duration of the Walker QR X350 is max. 15 minutes. Is there any possibility to find a longlasting battery for the QR X350 or I need to find another drone? If someone helps me I would really apreciate that.