The future has begun for Wingcopter. At least that’s what the young company from Weiterstadt, Germany, hopes. With its delivery drones, it wants to open up completely new ways for the distribution of parcels, medicines, fresh food, and spare parts.
The company has introduced its new drone generation, the Wingcopter 198. It is an all-electric, vertical-take-off-and-landing (eVTOL), fixed-wing drone that can deliver up to three packages to multiple locations during one flight.
For each delivery stop, the Wingcopter 198 transitions from forward flight mode to hover mode and lowers the package in a matter of seconds. This innovative multi-stop capability of the Wingcopter 198 will make the delivery service even faster, thereby reducing delivery costs and maximizing route efficiency.
The Wingcopter 198 drone is based on the company’s patented tilt-rotor technology. It can take off and land vertically anywhere without the need for additional infrastructure and smoothly transitions into quiet and enduring forward flight. It can automatically respond to gusts of wind or other challenging weather conditions and reach a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).
The eight-rotor flyer can carry payloads of up to 6 kg over a distance of around 75 km (47 miles) on one battery or up to 110 km (68 miles) with lighter loads. The smart batteries are optimized for quick swaps and easy ground handling. The drone also has anti-collision sensors and specific software that allow you to complete the delivery exactly in the designated place, all in an absolutely autonomous way. Thanks to this precise automation, a single human operator can control and monitor up to 10 drones simultaneously to make multiple deliveries anywhere in the world.
The world’s first triple-drop delivery drone utilizes eight motors, eight ESCs, and two batteries to assure operational safety, even if there is a failure in the power train. Moreover, the drone is equipped with advanced maintenance technology to avoid unplanned downtimes, improve parts reliability, and lower maintenance costs. The Wingcopter 198 is equipped with dual airspeed sensors, dual heading and positioning systems, and dual flight controllers. This redundant system architecture ensures uninterrupted control over the aircraft.
The main communication link to the operator is LTE/5G, backed up by satellite. Specially developed detect-and-avoid software combining ADS-B, Flarm, Remote ID, and visual artificial intelligence interprets the flight environment in real-time and automatically initiates evasive maneuvers, as required.
Serial production of the Wingcopter 198 is expected to begin shortly and is currently undergoing FAA-type certification in the USA.
