AeroVironment Unveils Powerfully-Simple Quantix™

Humm, a tailsitter. That’s not the way most of the world is going and the reason is quite simple. The Wind, tail sitters are really hard to land in any wind. I hope that their system is clever enough to at very least turn itself to align with the wind when autolanding. Thus presenting less vertical area to the blow.

This entry into the civil space for AV might not be without risk. They are arriving late to the party. It will be well made for certain and able to withstand many flight cycles. Cost is going to be the decider.

Government budgets just won’t apply.

Interestingly AV did not attend Farnborough 2016, this would have made an interesting addition to the dozens of other civilian mapping RPA on display.

Looks to me like me too and without the support of established data vendors like PrecisionHawk, DroneDeploy and Propeller Aero. Maybe some agreements have been made and are yet to be announced. They claim their military knowledge gives them the skills required. I think they are going to struggle to move customers from established vendors.

There can be no doubt we are entering the age of VTOL and STOL craft.

Looks like they are using a Pixhawk 1 and Ardupilot to drive it. They should upgrade to the Pixhawk 2.1 for much better performance. Going with an OpenSource flight controller would remove AV from the shackles of ITAR.

• The AeroVironment Quantix™ is a new drone that combines the vertical takeoff and landing advantages of multirotors with the range, reliability and efficiency benefits of fixed-wing aircraft
• Operators in agriculture, energy, transportation, utility and other industries can fly Quantix easily using one-touch planning and launch via a dedicated Android tablet device
• The AeroVironment Decision Support System (AV DSS™) is a full service, cloud-based data analytics platform, incorporating a high level of automation plus leading research and algorithms to deliver actionable insights

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems for both military and commercial applications, today launched its new integrated commercial information solution featuring the innovative Quantix™ drone and Decision Support System™ (DSS).  Available spring 2017, these technologies allow users to gain actionable insights that can improve operational efficiencies, minimise risk and increase profitability.

The AeroVironment Quantix drone will give businesses the same air superiority, trusted certainty and security that the company is known for as the leading drone supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Quantix is an innovative drone featuring powerfully simple, automated flight with an operator-in-the-loop, and a unique, hybrid design that allows the aircraft to launch vertically and transition into horizontal flight, maximising aerodynamic efficiency and range.

Operating Quantix is as simple as 1-2-3:  First, to plan a mission, the operator simply traces their finger over a map displayed on the tablet controller screen to identify an area of interest.  Second, the system guides the operator through a simple, automated pre-flight check to ensure a safe, reliable mission.  Third, the operator simply presses the “fly” button and Quantix does the rest, including performing a detailed built-in test procedure, optimising its flight path for maximum coverage, launching, and then landing vertically when its mission is complete after scanning hundreds of acres with its colour and multispectral sensors.  Quantix is designed to be the first practical commercial drone combining the advantages of vertical liftoff, for a safe launch and soft landing, and horizontal flight to acquire data quickly and easily.  It also includes “land now” and “return home” command safety features for complete control.

At the heart of AeroVironment’s Commercial Information Solutions, business is the Decision Support System.  AeroVironment’s DSS uses advanced research and algorithms to produce high-resolution datasets and analysis of agriculture fields and vineyards, bridges, railroad tracks, pipelines, roads and many other valuable assets.  It has easy-to-use mobile interfaces with secure cloud-based data storage.  Developed with proprietary algorithms, the AV DSS is the foundation for powerful data processing, integrating data streams from multiple types of sensors and data collection tools and capable of securely storing large amounts of image data for historical trend analysis.

“AeroVironment’s Commercial Information Solutions business integrates remote sensing and surveying with cloud-based data analytics to help customers in multiple industries increase the efficiency of their operations,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chief executive and president.  “Quantix and AV DSS provide our customers with the first truly one-stop, full-service decision-support-system so they can make smarter, quicker decisions that will help increase their revenue and reduce uncertainty and risk.”

Nawabi added, “Our customers told us they want to focus on running their businesses, not on becoming drone experts.  That’s why we designed our highly automated system from the ground up to make it easy for them to get the insights they need so they can proceed with certainty.  From an easy-to-use and reliable drone to easy-to-access analytics, customers will benefit from our industry-leading drone and sensor technologies, proven reliable by the most exacting customers in the harshest environments on the planet.”

AeroVironment  will begin delivery of Quantix in the Spring of 2017