Sony VTOL UAV Prototype Test Flight

Aerosense, Sony Corp.’s joint-venture drone company, has unveiled a prototype of the flying machines it will use to serve business customers.

The airplane-shaped drones will take off and land vertically, and are expected to carry objects weighing up to 22 pounds, and fly for more than two hours at a maximum speed of 106 miles an hour.

Aerosense is a joint venture between Sony and Tokyo-based startup ZMP Inc., which specializes in autopilot technology. The venture is part of Sony’s efforts to move beyond its core consumer products into enterprise markets.

Drones have also become a top area of research and development among Internet and technology companies, including Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc., which are studying using them for package delivery.

Hisashi Taniguchi, chief executive of Aerospace and ZMP, said the company is targeting Y10 billion ($82.6 million) in revenue by 2020.

Aerosense will offer services such as inspecting aged infrastructure and surveying land that is difficult to access. The drones would be piloted automatically based on input from users about which areas they want surveyed.

“By making it automated, drones will be considerably safer because many of accidents today are caused by human errors,” Mr. Taniguchi said at a news conference.

Source: Wall Street Journal

 

2 comments

  1. In your article you reference the Wall Street Journal as your source, but claim that the article first appeared on UAS Vision. Somehow that doesn’t compute.

    1. Ben,

      Good point.
      We quote the Wall Street Journal as the source of the post.

      But the phrase that you are referring to is in the newsletter.
      Unfortunately this is added in automatically (and well-meaningly) by MailChimp, our mail service provider.

      I have been in touch with them to try to have it removed, because, as you know, this same issue applies to most of our posts..

      Thanks for being on the ball !

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