Commercial drones do an excellent job of taking wide-angle shots mimicking a bird’s-eye view. However, the professional sector often requires something more powerful, which is where industrial drones come into play. We recently saw the Matrice 300 RTK from DJI; now, it’s the turn of Acecore’s new Noa drone.
Acecore Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of high-end drones, introduces the Noa hexacopter, the third drone platform from the Oss-based company’s line-up. The new Acecore Noa consists of a total of six reinforced carbon fiber propellers, enough to be able to lift a load of up to 20 kilograms into the air.
The Noa hexacopter can reach speeds of up to 85 km/h horizontally. It has four rechargeable lithium batteries to achieve a claimed 60 minutes of maximum flight time. It remains to be seen how much weight it can take to maintain the hour of autonomy, since surely with the load of 20 kg these minutes are reduced. Due to the flexibility in battery options, users can also balance payload and battery weight to allow for optimal flight efficiency.
It is equipped with four retractable landing gears to comfortably land the drone and hide them when it is in flight, in order not to get in the way of cameras or other tools. Its final size is 1.68 meters in diameter and 0.84 meters in height. The system is rain resistant up to precipitation values of 9 mm/hour. Besides, its hollow propeller arms are designed to facilitate a cooling airflow throughout the aircraft. Therefore, the hexacopter can be used up to outside temperatures of +50°C.
The Noa hexacopter is controlled by an open-source Pixhawk controller. The drone, in addition to flying with manual control, can be placed in different modes – GPS mode -Attitude mode – Auto mode – Brake – Stabilize – so that it reaches a point or to follow a target, among others. In case of an engine failure or faltering ESC, the drone can still be safely grounded.
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Payloads can be changed quickly thanks to Acecore’s modular quick release. A Gremsy coupling is provided as standard, but other payloads can also be mounted using adapters. Acecore cites the DJI Ronin 2 gimbal as an example, equipped with a RED Weapon 6K with Sigma 50-100 T2 cine lens. This setup can remain in the air for up to 25 minutes.
This drone is indeed not for commercial use. With such specifications, it is intended for professional use, such as in the audio-visual sector. Probably, for this reason, its price has not been disclosed. The new Acecore Noa can be ordered directly from the manufacturer or through authorized resellers. The system will be delivered from the first week of June.
