Red Cat Holdings Subsidiary Skypersonic Demonstrates Remote-Piloted Drone at LoveITDetroit’s Aerospace Reception
Skypersonic’s groundbreaking Skycopter drone was co-piloted by Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori
Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCAT) (“Red Cat” or “Company”), a hardware-enabled software provider to the drone industry, reports that subsidiary company Skypersonic demonstrated its Skypcopter drone for a VIP audience at an aerospace reception hosted by the Consulate of Italy in Detroit on the evening of Sept. 7.
As part of the consulate’s LoveITDetroit initiative – a month-long celebration of “Made in Italy in the United States and the Metaverse” – Skypersonic, which is headquartered in Detroit with a European office in Turin, Italy, was also represented in a panel discussion on Italian innovation in space exploration.
Skypersonic Founder and CEO Giuseppe Santangelo joined other distinguished panelists including General Roberto Vittori, OMRI, an Italian Air Force officer and ESA astronaut; Simonetta Di Pippo, an Italian astrophysicist and former director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA); and Vicky Selva, executive director of Michigan Defense Center.
“It was an honor to be invited onto that panel, and the invitation reflects Skypersonic’s recent achievements in the aerospace sector,” said Santangelo. “Last year, our company signed a five-year contract with NASA to provide drone and rover software, hardware and support to NASA’s simulated Mars mission. Then, just last month, we announced that we’d successfully validated our technology during 15 days of testing on Mt. Etna, an active volcano in Sicily whose landscape is similar to Martian geology.”
Following LoveITDetroit’s aerospace panel discussion, Skypersonic’s groundbreaking Skycopter drone was demonstrated for the by-invitation-only audience. A formation of three Skycopters flew around the breathtaking physical environment that was designed for LoveITDetroit by renowned Italian architect and designer Roberto Palomba. The swarm was co-piloted by Vittori, who has participated in three space flights since the ESA selected him to join the European Astronaut Corps in 1998. To prepare for the Skycopter demonstration flight at LoveITDetroit, Vittori spent half a day in training with Skypersonic’s team in Turin.
“[The Skycopter is] certainly a winning combination with great potential for both terrestrial and space developments,” said Vittori. “Tested both in the external observer mode and through the ‘goggles’– virtually as a pilot inside the drone – it really is an excellent machine.”
The Skycopter drone can be piloted virtually anywhere, from virtually anywhere, as the Skypersonic team recently demonstrated on Mt. Etna in July. Using Skypersonic’s revolutionary Long Range Real-Time Remote Piloting System, the drone on the active volcano in Italy was controlled by personnel in Houston, Texas, in real time. Whereas most drones cannot be piloted without connecting to the GPS network, Skycopter uses technology that is able to control and track the drone in locations – such as Mars – where GPS is not available.
About Skypersonic
Headquartered in Detroit with a European office in Turin, Italy, Skypersonic is a leader in the use of drones for industrial inspections and first response emergency situations, as well as in “Remotely Flying Drones Anywhere™” via its ground-breaking Long Range Real-Time Remote Piloting System. Skypersonic’s flagship is the Skycopter: a drone with a tiltable video camera that is designed to work in extreme conditions and ultra-tight spaces. It is enclosed and protected by an external aerodynamic, ultra-light and ultra-resistant cage to ensure safety and avoid damage to inspected structures and to the airframe itself. It is also fitted with an ultra-bright 360° LED lighting system for applications in complete darkness, and sensors to detect gases and radiation can also be added. Skycopter uses Skyloc technology: a real-time location and monitoring system able to control and track with extremely high accuracy the movements of the drone in indoor scenarios or where GPS is not available. Skypersonic also invented the first-ever worldwide civil real-time remote piloting system that allows piloting in FPV (first-person view) any drone (not just the Skycopter) located anywhere from a generic internet station located anywhere.
About Red Cat Holdings, Inc.
Red Cat provides drone-based products, services, and solutions through its four subsidiaries and services the enterprise, military, and consumer markets. Teal Drones is a leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and its Golden Eagle is one of only five drones approved by the Department of Defense for reconnaissance, public safety, and inspection applications. Skypersonic’s technology enables drones to complete inspection services in locations where GPS is not available, yet still record and transmit data even while being operated from thousands of miles away. Fat Shark is a leading provider of First Person View (FPV) video goggles. Rotor Riot, LLC is a reseller of FPV drones and equipment, primarily to the consumer marketplace. Learn more at www.redcatholdings.com.
