Australian aerospace company V-TOL Aerospace is developing a family of robotic platforms for use in the agriculture, infrastructure and asset monitoring, security, anti-terrorism, emergency services and communications industries. The first member of the i-Copter series was on display at the Australian International Air Show earlier this year in Avalon, Victoria.
The Brisbane-based company claims the i-Copter is the most advanced small robotic helicopter in the southern hemisphere. "It is equipped with artifical intelligence technologies that enable it to perform a wide variety of tasks without the need for an on-board pilot or constant human control," says Mark Xavier, managing director of V-TOL Aerospace. The i-Copter can operate in the day or at night and in weather conditions and locations that could be unsuitable or dangerous for manned operations.
EMMA KELLY/MELBOURNE
Source: Flight International