"Most drones excel at one of two things. They can either take off and land without a runway, or they can quickly transport heavy payloads across long distances. But drones that can do the former can’t usually do the latter, and vice versa.
The problem is that the rotors needed for a vertical takeoff — the kind that a drone can manage with limited space — aren’t terribly efficient for flight. Meanwhile, the fixed wings that are efficient for flight can’t get a drone off the ground vertically.
In a recently published interview with IEEE Spectrum, Passerine CEO Matthew Whalley explained how the company’s drones can both launch without a runway and fly efficiently.
“When it launches, it essentially jumps into the air,” he said. “The launch is very similar to a bird… When it jumps, it’s not about gaining height, it’s about launching the drone forward to get it up past its minimum flight speed, and at that point it’s flying like a conventional aircraft.”
https://futurism.com/the-byte/drone-bird-inspired-legs
The problem is that the rotors needed for a vertical takeoff — the kind that a drone can manage with limited space — aren’t terribly efficient for flight. Meanwhile, the fixed wings that are efficient for flight can’t get a drone off the ground vertically.
In a recently published interview with IEEE Spectrum, Passerine CEO Matthew Whalley explained how the company’s drones can both launch without a runway and fly efficiently.
“When it launches, it essentially jumps into the air,” he said. “The launch is very similar to a bird… When it jumps, it’s not about gaining height, it’s about launching the drone forward to get it up past its minimum flight speed, and at that point it’s flying like a conventional aircraft.”
https://futurism.com/the-byte/drone-bird-inspired-legs