Da-Vinci, a Compact, lightweight VTOL multi-rotor UAS Platform is launched today at the AUSA 2014 in Washington DC. The developer is Flying Productions, a young Israeli company that has developed the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone for military and law enforcement missions in urban areas.
To gain the necessary lift and propulsion Da-Vinci uses six rotors arranged in three counter-rotating pairs. Designed to operate at low altitude, urban warfare observation missions, includes a Portable Ground Control Station and Dual Sensor EO/IR Payload. The entire avionic package and Payload are stored around the center of gravity, providing a stable platform even at low altitude and gusty winds. To simplify operation by a single soldier the drone is designed to be lightweight, and uses automatic vertical take-off and landing, and autonomous mission control modes. The system can operate reliably in urban areas, even where line-of-sight communications are not available.
The Ground Control Station, Astronomy, is designed as an ‘all-in-one’ box integrating power, data, communication, and control, supported by custom designed software that enables advanced control modes, such as target sharing, multi-drone control, and an obstacle warning alerts.
Da-Vinci carries a dedicated, compact EO payload called Galileo. This stabilized dual-sensor payload comes at a low weight (1.2 kg) and packs a FLIR with continuous zoom lense, HD video camera, electronic processing for video encoding, and low-light observation capability. The system includes multiple display and streaming features, real-time HD streaming, and Dual-Axis stabilization.
According to Tal Shahar, CEO: “Da-Vinci is designed for operation in the dense environments typical of urban warfare” according to Shahar, Da-Vinci has already won orders from a launch customer in Eastern Europe and is currently being tested by additional customers.”
