Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WingtraOne (A VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) drone for mapping and surveying, uniquely combining long range, heavy payloads and ease of use.)
Reporting period: 2018-11-01 to 2019-02-28
Drone data is a key enabler of precision agriculture, which can help reduce fertilizer and pesticide use and increase farm output. Drone data also allows surveyors to map previously unreachable areas. However, drones have yet to become the gold standard for mapping and surveying large areas due to limited coverage, unreachable areas, low accuracy of aerial data and health & safety risks. Wingtra is bringing to market a fully autonomous hybrid drone combining Vertical Take-Off and Landing capabilities with flight that matches the endurance and speed of fixed-wing airplanes. The unparalleled vertical landing technology enables touchdown in confined areas as small as 2 m x 2 m like boats or forest lanes. It can cover 100+ ha at 1 cm/px GSD in a single flight. The overall objectives of the project are to complete product engineering, set up an industrial production line and carry out a pilot in Europe during which data will be collected to inform further product optimisation and to support communication activities.
During the feasibility assessment, Wingtra has completed a full analysis of the technical and business potential of their WingtraOne. Throughout the project, Wingtra has greatly expanded their knowledge regarding the regulatory approval required for the European market launch. The key technical milestone achieved during the project was the definition of the remaining optimisation and upgrade activities required for WingtraOne and all necessary suppliers and stakeholders involved. The pilot plan was defined with the key objective of demonstrating the usability, safety and accuracy of WingtraOne and to demonstrate the ability to fly in adverse condition
Existing drones require a person or a catapult for take-off, and have a lower coverage range than WingtraOne. They also don’t offer the same flexibility with payload as WingtraOne, reducing their effectiveness for target markets such as agriculture. Moreover, they land using belly landings, which can damage cameras or sensors. WingtraOne provides greater coverage and payload weight. Multirotor drones require a higher number of actuators for flight; the complexity of their designs makes them difficult to transport, as you have to carry the additional actuators, and makes the systems less reliable as more actuators can fail. The simplicity of WingtraOne results in a greater opportunity to exploit economies of scale, makes it easier to transport and more reliable. WingtraOne's ease-of-use and superior performance should lead to greater user acceptance of drones, particularly in the agricultural sector.