In case of losing control of a drone, certain emergency systems are necessary to avoid the destruction of the drone and furthermore to minimize the danger for objects and human beings on the ground. Just recently, the St.Gallen-based Meteomatics received a new US-patent for an innovative alternative to known safety systems such as parachutes.
The Meteodrone of Meteomatics was developed to close data gaps in existing weather models. These gaps concern the boundary layer, which is the main trigger of phenomena like fog, low stratus, freezing rain and thunderstorms. The Meteodrone enables highly accurate measurements of weather parameters in the boundary layer.
And this is the theme of the patent: At least two passive lift elements are arranged radial-symmetrically about a yaw axis of the drone. In the event of an uncontrolled fall, these twisted passive lift elements initiate a rotation about the yaw. Thereby, the position of the drone will be stabilized in space. Furthermore, the rotation generates a dynamic lift which reduces the fall and crash velocity of the drone.
Martin Fengler, Meteomatics CEO, says: «The multiple utilization of a component part, for example the passive lift elements, offers the advantage of saving weight, which is essential for our operational service with the Meteodrones. Additionally, this new system will further reduce maintenance costs.»
Meteomatics is a company based in St. Gallen, Switzerland and offers meteorological products and services for industries such as the energy and trading sectors, which have a demand for extremely accurate weather forecasts. In these fields, Meteomatics has an excellent reputation of market-leading accuracy in temperature, solar power and wind power forecasts. The development of the Meteodrones is supported by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) and the STARTFELD foundation in St. Gallen.
(Press Release/jd)
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