In the last few years a new avenue of RC has arisen. This new niche in RC flight hasn’t even broken the mold in potential it is capable of. What is this new market? A complicated and yet easy description is the UAV Multirotor market. These are flight systems that use multiple propellers to gain flight. At first glance the interest may not be understandable as they are usually not used for 3D acrobatics and the flight times can be limited. So what makes this such a hot new product? From high end commercial use to low end entertainment these systems are built with or include a mount for a camera. This allows you to record the footage you get while in flight. So basically you can capture a point of view previously thought extremely expensive or impossible. To see a water fall from right where it falls or to watch a sunset from 200 feet in the air, these units have begun something that is only going to grow.
Larger systems that have been used in several movies and commercials provide some of the most vivid and unique shots at half the cost of renting a helicopter. These units can fit into much tighter locations and with the proper gimbal can get a shot at any angle. Not only do these units allow for amazing shots at an affordable price, but they come with GPS systems that will allow you to hold a specific position without adjustment on the part of the user. If you lose transmission many of these units will self-right and return to their take-off point on their own.
On the other end of the spectrum hobby grade systems like the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 which are much more affordable come with built in cameras. This is a consumer level quadcopter with HD cameras built in. It can be easily flown by anyone that owns either an IPhone or an Android based smart phone. Controlling the AR Drone is done by simply downloading the app from the App store or Google Play. These apps are completely free and allow you to fly the AR Drone simply by tilting the phone and using the on-screen controls. These power elevation, direction, and camera views. Yes, two as the Parrot AR Drone allows you to see directly in front of you and directly below the Drone.
The AR Drone is a complex design but don’t let this scare you as it is a proven design that flies incredibly easy. In essence it is not over powered to the point where it’s going to get away and get lost. The drone does not currently come with GPS but stay tuned as there next upgrade is said to be coming with this feature. This way you can set it to fly in a specific direction at a specific speed. Imagine as a rock climber being able to video tape your climb. Or as you work one something you can program the drone to circle you videotaping, capturing the perfect shot.
The functions of the Multirotors go far beyond movies and hobby use however. Police, fire department, military, and many other government agencies are beginning to use drones as a part of everyday life. Police can send a drone into an otherwise dangerous situation to see what is going on. The fire department can observe a larger forest fire from above in seconds. There are some understandable concerns about privacy but this market is not about to disappear. As the drones grow in popularity restrictions will be put in place allowing their use on a more regular basis. MaxAmps is providing packs for all of these applications. Providing the longest flight times and the most reliable power on the market we are posed to grow along with this new form of RC flight.
For more information on the proper pack for your setup check out our UAV Multirotor section.
https://www.maxamps.com/category/lipo-batteries-for-multirotors
– Joshua Barker PR Manager
