New Drone Flies Twice as Long
Ring Shaped, Bicopter Drone Source: EPFL - Samir Bouabdallah & his Ring Drone Flybotix This new, novel drone Flybotix can fly twice as long as conventional models, including a quadcopter of the same size. The drone is only a foot wide and flies with two, counter-rotating propellers that are stacked inside the body of the drone. It also has an advanced, algorithm-based stabilization mechanism that enables it to double the flight time of conventional drones. The propulsion system is modelled after helicopters. Swiss Invention The drone was developed by the startup FLYBOTIX. The founder and inventor is Samir Bouabdallah, who worked at ETH Zurich and EPFL for over twenty years, developing drone technology. The propellers in his "bicopter" are longer than what's used in a similarly sized quadcopters. That gives the drone more lift and greater battery energy efficiency. It appears to be an ideal drone to inspect hard to reach and fragi...