Whizz for a new guy: budget drone will deliver cargo to remote areas
Russian designers have developed a new aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicle that is capable of performing vertical takeoff and landing. It is designed for automatic cargo delivery to hard-to-reach areas and differs from its analogues in its low cost. The project was named "Whack". The estimated cost of one device is 150 thousand rubles. The price of up to 700 thousand rubles is considered competitive in the market of such devices. According to experts, such developments are extremely relevant now, as they can become the basis for new fully automated logistics systems. However, the use of aircraft-type UAVs for these purposes is associated with some difficulties.
What characteristics does the new drone have?
Students of the D.F. Ustinov Baltic State Technical University Voenmeh (St. Petersburg) presented a new unmanned hybrid aircraft that combines the advantages of aircraft-type devices and the possibility of vertical takeoff and landing. The project was named "Vzhik", the NTI press service reported. The development differs from its analogues in the low cost of operation and is designed for automatic cargo delivery to hard-to-reach areas. The project participated in NTI acceleration programs within the framework of the federal project "University Technology Entrepreneurship Platform".
"Thanks to its rapid deployment, low—cost operation and prompt repairs, the Vzhik project is designed to solve the problem of efficient cargo delivery to hard—to-reach areas," said Boris Volkov, the project's design engineer.
UAV "Vzhik"
According to the developers, it is not necessary for drone operators to have extensive experience in piloting vehicles — even a novice can handle it. The ease of operation is due to the high level of flight automation: the user only needs to assemble the device, turn it on and give the flight task, after which automation takes over control.
The Vzhik combines an aircraft-type layout and an integrated multi-rotor system. Thanks to this, the drone can hover in the air, make vertical takeoff and landing. It is capable of delivering goods or carrying equipment weighing up to 3 kg over a distance of 7.5 km with return to the starting point or up to 15 km without return. The flight time is a maximum of 30 minutes, and the cruising speed is 72 km/h.
The developers chose an X-shaped layout and an asymmetric aerodynamic profile for the drone, which allows maximizing lift with minimal wing area. The modular design also makes it possible to install any compatible components on the UAV, as long as their weight does not exceed 3 kg and they do not interfere with the rotation of the rotors. For advanced users, full control mode is available, in which the Whiz behaves like an FPV drone.
The development team of the Vzhik UAV
— Compared to its analogues, "Vzhik" has improved characteristics. It carries up to 3 kg of cargo compared to 2-2.8 kg for similar UAVs, provides a range of 7.5 km with a return (for others — only 5 km) and surpasses them in time in the air — up to 30 minutes versus 10 minutes. According to our preliminary calculations, one device will cost about 150,000 rubles," said Boris Volkov.
According to the developers, the project is suitable for use by medical institutions delivering medicines and biomaterials to hard-to-reach areas, logistics companies optimizing transportation in urban environments or on difficult routes, as well as for special services conducting search and rescue operations and monitoring the area after emergencies.
Automatic logistics system
At the moment, flight tests of the drone are being conducted in the Leningrad region. In parallel, we are developing our own management system. Joint tests of the UAV and the control system are scheduled for the end of the year.
— So far, the presented UAV looks like an experimental sample. In general, developments related to the air cargo delivery by drones weighing less than 30 kg are very promising now. They will form the basis of future automated warehouses and drone ports. Their main traffic will be in aerologistics," said Andrey Yablokov, Deputy General Director of Aeroscript Research Center.
The model may be in demand when implementing flights with a high level of autonomy, the ability to avoid conflicts in the air, navigation independent of satellite systems and understandable cargo delivery mechanisms at landing points, the specialist added.
— The stated characteristics for an airplane-type UAV, even with the possibility of vertical takeoff and landing, are extremely low and more consistent with a small multirotor-type UAV. For example: existing quadrocopters deliver a similar load over a distance of up to 30 km and can be used to deliver oil samples to oil and gas companies. Delivery by aircraft-type systems is not always applicable due to the complexity of cargo placement in the fuselage. This requires compliance with the weight distribution both with the payload and after its discharge, which limits the volume of this cargo," said Pavel Kamnev, Commercial director of Laboratory of the Future.
According to Nikolay Ryashin, CEO of Rusdronoport, today any unmanned autonomous vehicles for logistics purposes have a prospect in two cases.
— The first is at their low cost, according to our estimates, from 500 thousand to 700 thousand rubles, no more. And also if they are manufactured for the end customer, they have a load capacity of about 5 kg for a distance of about 10 km and work flawlessly," said the specialist.
The second case is if there is integration of such drones with droneports to eliminate the need for external pilots to control them and maintain them on the ground, he added.
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