the fastest drone yet to be flown has been announced by the Drone Racing League (DRL), the speed of which has been confirmed as an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORD. The award is specifically for the fastest ground speed recorded for a battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter. The record beating feat is by a craft called the DRL RacerX and the record speed is 179.6 miles per hour.
To reach this speed required steady technological development given that earlier prototypes burst into flames when the drone hit its highest point of acceleration; this was a consequence of the amount of power being applied. The drone was designed by a team led by DRL’s chief executive Nicholas Horbaczewski.
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The fastest racing drone, the DRL RacerX, zooms at a never-seen-before top speed of 179.6 miles per hour. Weighing only 800 grams (1.76 pounds), the RacerX flies with its:
46,000 RPMs
10S (42V) Powertrain
BeeRotor 80A (10S) ESCs / BLHeli with Multishot
TMotor F80 2407 2500kv
1300mah 2 x 5S R-Line Tattu Lithium Polymer Batteries
Interesting as the record is, what it does is highlight the growing interest in drone technology. As well as a burgeoning consumer market, drones are appealing to many businesses in a big way. For example, drones are now central to improving farming and with precision agriculture. With this application, drones equipped with cameras, piloted by the farmer on the ground, can survey the land using multiple lenses to take images the fields from various angles in infrared and visible wavelengths The images can be analyzed to show a hist of farming variables, from moisture in topsoil, to chlorophyll content of leaves and distribution of pernicious weeds like blackgrass. As an example, drones developed by technology company senseFly have assisted French farmers in gaining a 10 percent increase in crop yields.
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A second area where drones are being tested is with making deliveries of goods and trials in many companies have been successful. To address safety concerns, NASA is working on developing improved air traffic control systems for drone management; and plans are a foot for a drone corridor between Rome and Syracuse in upstate New York. One of the leading companies experimenting with drone delivery technology is Amazon. This may also shift Amazon away from its traditional large warehouses, for Amazon has patented beehive-like structure to house delivery drones in cities.
Record breaking speed and various business innovations strongly point to drone technology being one of the aspects of digital transformation that many different types of enterprises need to consider over the next couple of years.
If you’re interested in reading more about the future application of drones in the business context, please read Digital Journal’s article about how drones are leading to productivity improvements in the construction and building sector: “Drones are helping the construction industry to reach new heights.”
