Autel Robotics tilt-rotor Dragonfish Lite and Pro UAVs available in US

Photo: Autel Robotics

The Autel Robotics Dragonfish Lite and Pro UAVs are now available in the United States, joining the Dragonfish Standard and providing more options and choices for UAV pilots.

The rugged Dragonfish UAVs are capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) with both multi-rotor and winged flight, with an endurance of up to 180 minutes. They are suitable for professional applications such as energy, mining, defense and surveillance. Maximum winged flight speed is 30 m/s (108 km/h, 67 mph), and maximum video transmission range is 30 km (18.6 miles) with a base station.

The 1-tap take-off and landing capability point-and-click user interface, and other smart autonomous features make the Dragonish simple for anyone to operate, according to maker Autel Robotics. The aircraft can make a smart decision to either land or return to base in case of issues such as loss of GPS signal, loss of operator communications, or low battery power.

The Dragonfish tilt-rotor system will automatically transition to multi-rotor mode if adverse conditions cause fixed-winged flight to stall or become unsustainable. The Dragonfish battery, barometer, positioning system, compass and inertial measurement unit all have backup modules to ensure flight safety.

Dragonfish UAVs can carry a variety of payloads, including standard high-resolution cameras, 50x optical zoom cameras, 12-megapixel wide-angle cameras, 1280 x 1024 high-resolution infrared cameras, and laser rangefinders for various imaging, surveillance and mapping tasks.

All Dragonfish UAVs are built from tough carbon-fiber and fiber-glass composite, providing excellent IP43 wind and weather resistance. Despite the strong construction, these aircraft are designed to be easily disassembled for space-saving transport. They can be assembled in three minutes without tools. Disassembled, Dragonfish fits in the back of any car or SUV.

The larger Dragonfish Pro provides the longest flight time of the series, 180 minutes with payload, and has a 6,000-m (19,685-ft) flight ceiling, making it suitable for applications such as discreet long-endurance surveillance and wide-area mapping. The maximum payload capacity is 2.5 kg.

Compact and lightweight at 4.5 kg (including two batteries) with a 1,600-mm wingspan, the Dragonfish Lite can carry a 1-kg payload up to its service ceiling of 4,000 m, and has 75 minutes’ flight endurance.

Dragonfish Standard is already available. Dragonfish Lite and Dragonfish Pro will be available in the U.S. starting in April.

Firmware Release

The company also announced that pilots of Autel Robotics’ EVO Nano and EVO Lite series drones can download a firmware update that adds features including Dynamic Track 2.1 (person only), SuperDownload, 8-bit Log video, HDR video and other improvements. Some of these new firmware features are available now for selected models, and other features will become available for the EVO Lite, Lite+, Nano and Nano+ series in the near future.