Technical specifications
Drone (definition): an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) colloquially known as a drone is a radio-controlled aircraft that carries a payload is intended to support military or civil missions of surveillance and intelligence. Their civil applications include amongst others traffic control, maritime surveillance, aerial research operations, data collecting for weather forecasts or challenging environment (such as nuclear, radiological, bacteriological or chemical areas), information relay, and aerial imagery.
Our electrically-powered drones: Very handy and fast, the one-meter span drones weight from 3kg empty to 5 kilograms, when equipped with cameras. They are driven by six or eight electric motors and enjoy a 15 minutes battery life.
Their embedded electronics, made up amongst other of an inertial central station with gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers and GPS that ensure a noteworthy accuracy and stability (ideally suited for its aerial photography mission). A two-axis gyro-stabilized platform -on which the camera is attached- is installed below the aircraft. It is either independently stabilized or by a second people (the cameraman). In order to improve the aerial shots, the pilot and possibly the cameraman are equipped with a video return either on the ground or on an UHF-linked screen. They can choose the right angle, height and distance considering in live the result on the screen. However, the machine remains at any timer under the visual control of one of the two operators at least.
Reliability / security: Concerning its reliability, the drone is equipped with a GPS and can be self-stabilized considering a GPS position at a certain altitude within the space.
It brings also a « Failsafe » function. Either in case of a loss of radio communication or based upon an order from the pilot, the drone is programmed to land at the take-off area in an automatic and self-directed manner. Its six to eight electric motors provide a very useful redundancy in case of engine failure.
The drone can fly in wind conditions up to 35Km/h (i.e. 21.75 mph). However, in order to obtain the optimal quality of pictures and movies we do not fly under wind conditions that go above 25Km/h (15.53mph). The machine does not fly under the snow or rain. Please note that, given our knowledge in aviation and aerology and for security reasons only, we reserve the right to appreciate the weather conditions and to cancel the mission if needed.
Our drones have been assembled, equipped and adjusted by us with a high-quality material. They are meticulously maintained on a regular basis in our workshops.
Our video equipment: In order to realize high-quality shots we use a SONY R100 camera, a SONY CX-11e video camera and GOPRO HERO3 black video cameras. All the images have a minimum quality of 1080p (full HD) and are filmed at 24-30 or 60 frames per second according to the nature of the subject. The pictures have a minimum 10 Mega-pixel resolution.