Rotor is currently focusing on the agriculture sector, which has been using drones for automation but sees unmanned helicopters as a more efficient way to spray larger areas with pesticides and fertilizers. The company plans to conduct a public flight test with its Sprayhawk at an agriculture aviation trade show in Texas. Rotor's Sprayhawk helicopter is a Robinson R44, with the four seats replaced with technology that allows for better visibility of terrain at night. The company is also developing helicopters for cargo transport in disaster zones and offshore oil rigs.
Key takeaways:
- Hector Xu, founder of Rotor Technologies, has developed two autonomous Sprayhawks, unmanned helicopters designed to spray crops and fight fires, with plans to have 20 ready for market next year.
- The autonomous Sprayhawk is a Robinson R44 helicopter, equipped with flight computers, communications systems, five cameras, laser-sensing technology, a radar altimeter, GPS and motion sensors.
- The agriculture sector has shown interest in unmanned helicopters for crop dusting, as they can cover larger areas than drones and reduce the risk of accidents associated with manned crop dusting flights.
- Other companies, such as Pyka, are also developing unmanned aircraft for agricultural use, indicating a potential shift towards automation in the sector for safety and cost-saving reasons.