Until now it’s been a generally accepted fact that if a quadcopter motor fails that’s mission over. One day public event specialists Verity Studios of Zurich, Switzerland decided they had had enough. So they wrote new drone software allowing the vehicle to fly on three or even two rotors. Provided it has enough battery power left of course.
Their New Drone Software Overrides Basic Assumptions
Terry Jarrell writing for AOPA Foundation explains quadcopter motors usually operate in pairs under control of a flight control computer. Therefore, when a pilot issues a command through a joystick, these pairs speed up or slow down together.
Depending on the maneuver this cooperation may between adjacent motors or those diagonally across. Therefore, the center of control cannot hold if a motor fails. Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity take over and the vehicle tumbles from the sky.
One day this proved too much for Verity Studios’ founder Raffaello D’Andrea. If there is still battery power, he reasoned why can’t we save the quadcopter?
Verity Studious Quadcopters in Action
How an Out-Of-Control Drone Inspired Fresh Thinking
Verity Studios’ drones fly over crowds of thousands of people at glittering events. When Raffaello D’Andrea heard of a third-party drone crash, he knew he had to do something. That’s because there were some very serious injuries to people on the ground struck by the out-of-control drone.
However, he soon discarded the idea of parachutes because their weight reduces flying time and payload. Instead, he commissioned new drone software he calls Failsafe allowing controlled decent on three or even two motors. Eight of his Failsafe vehicles completed over 7,000 flights at a series of spectacular events. The software took over once when a battery gave trouble and the quadcopter landed safely.
Unfortunately his new drone software will only be available to the public when a manufacturer incorporates it in their original specification. And that, Terry Jarrell laments, has not happened yet.
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