When it comes to drones, whether for recreational or professional use, one brand consistently comes to mind: DJI. The Chinese manufacturer dominates the industry and seems unbeatable. However, a French company launched in 2011, DRONE VOLT, is aiming to take its shot by offering custom-made industrial drones designed and manufactured in Europe. Let us go on exploring drone volt.
What is volt?
DRONE VOLT is an international leader in the field of professional civilian drones and embedded artificial intelligence. The Group is always developing more innovative solutions for the energy, construction, civil engineering and security industries for applications such as inspection, surveillance, surface treatment, thermography, search and rescue missions.
Bestseller
The Hercules 20, is a heavy-lifter capable of carrying up to 15 kilos. It can be used in various situations (cargo transport, low or high-pressure cleaning). We can add a winch to it, for example, to transport parts onto wind turbines. There are Hercules 20 drones currently stationed on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to transfer goods from one ship to another. The LineDrone in partnership with Hydro-Québec, the company that manages the entire electrical grid in Canada. They wanted a drone for electrical maintenance that could land on a 315,000-volt high-voltage line.
Latest Model
Kobra carries five kilos of batteries, weighs five kilos itself, and can carry an additional five kilos. It can fly for just over forty minutes with a five-kilo payload. This drone incorporates several innovations. First and foremost, it was designed to be easy to maintain. Inside, different boards plug into each other, reducing the number of cables, which can often cause problems. The Kobra is equipped with a Nvidia board, which means it has a supercomputer inside, enabling it to carry artificial intelligence capabilities. It also comes with 4G and 5G connectivity. Another unique feature is its hot-swap battery, allowing the battery to be changed without turning off the drone.
Future Prospects
One client asked us for a drone to transport blood samples and medication between two hospitals in the city. However, they want a very complex drone where all critical systems are duplicated. Rather than four motors, it has eight. Instead of one power board, it has two. Instead of two batteries, it has four. Everything must be doubled. We’re currently studying the project, and the idea is to develop the drone from scratch. We’ve estimated a two-year timeline from the creation of the specifications, feasibility studies, and the first prototypes, to equipment validation and, finally, manufacturing and commercialization. The client funds the development step by step.
Collaborations
We also collaborate with companies and organizations to develop customized solutions that meet the specific needs of our customers. We have previously worked with companies in the oil and gas industry, renewable energy companies, environmental organizations and emergency services to help them improve their operational efficiency and reduce their environmental impact.
While exploring drone volt, we build disruptive technologies that will change the paradigm. It is of use to many industries and activities to methods that are more environmentally friendly and safer for human operators. Our goal is to disrupt traditional helicopter missions in many of these activities.
