Super-fast fighter drone unveiled by a startup

Autel Robotics has unveiled its latest drone platform at CES 2022, which enables the devices to fly regardless of the weather, making them suitable for monitoring natural disasters and rescue work.

The startup’s tilt-rotor VTOL drone can switch to fixed-wing mode to scout areas that have been completely devastated by a hurricane, for example, while the storm is still raging. A drone loader design, called EVO Nest, has also been demonstrated to simplify the visual observation of the structure and its real-time monitoring. The VTOL tiltrotor drones could be used primarily for inspection by large industrial companies, but it is envisaged that they could also be used by police, firefighters or even paramedics in the near future.

Autel Robotics spokesman John Simmons said that one of their first customers was a Florida sheriff’s department, who ordered a few of the state-of-the-art drones to maintain law and order and control the public, replacing traditional patrol cars.

The Autel Dragonfish series of drones can fly for 120-180 minutes on a single charge and have a maximum speed of around 108 km/h. The drones can be assembled in less than 3 minutes, can boot and self-test in 5 seconds and can carry out predefined missions with a single touch.