Used for creating precise 3D models of terrain for mapping and more, LiDAR surveys are an important commercial application for the drone industry – but battery limitations and the associated short flight times remain a problem. Now, California-based Skyfront is working with European UAV LiDAR solution provider Routescene to explore the impact of increasing flight endurance, using Skyfront’s Perimeter 8 gasoline-electric hybrid multicopter.
For larger LiDAR survey sites that might require more than one take-off and landing site, the limited flight time can lead to significant downtime – which costs signficant money. Teams from Skyfront and Routescene set out to demonstrate that increasing flight time by using a hybrid fueled drone could signficantly impact data collection productivity.
The results were an impressive 3 hour flight time for the Skyfront Perimeter 8 carrying a Routescene LiDAR payload: reducing downtime so significantly that a typical 2-day project could be completed in one day.
(Source: https://dronelife.com/2021/03/11/lidar-surveys-by-drone-increasing-flight-endurance-for-a-big-impact-on-productivity/)