The Bruchsal air taxi manufacturer Volocopter launched a self-developed heavy-duty drone publicly in Hamburg on Tuesday.
The test flight, which lasted around three minutes, took place in the port area of the Hanseatic city on the fringes of the international ITS mobility congress.
Volocopter wants to establish such drones together with the logistics giant DB Schenker as part of the logistics chain.
Hamburg / Bruchsal - Last year, the rail subsidiary joined Volocopter as an investor in order to bring the cargo drone to market maturity.
For the logistics simulation, the electric cargo drone was equipped with a charging box between the landing gear, loaded and then flown to a DB Schenker cargo bike.
Volocopter boss Florian Reuter assessed the test flight as proof of the leading position of his company in the field of urban air transport ("Urban Air Mobility", UAM).
"We are the only UAM company that develops solutions for passengers and goods and shows them on public flights around the world." The cargo drone will make logistics processes "more robust, efficient and sustainable".
The “Volodrone” equipped with 18 rotors is an unmanned, electrically powered drone;
it is designed for the transport of ISO pallets of all sizes with a weight of up to 200 kilograms and has a range of 40 kilometers.
The drone has a diameter of 9.15 meters, is 2.15 meters high and has a maximum take-off weight of 600 kilograms.
"Thanks to a standardized fastening system, the Volodrone can fulfill a wide range of purposes and, for example, transport boxes, liquids or machines," says the manufacturer.
The company envisions the delivery of heavy parcels to remote locations or the transport of unwieldy parts to construction sites as possible applications.
"Wherever ground transport reaches its limits, the Volodrone can offer a new dimension of access via the air."
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From the perspective of the federal government, such aircraft have enormous potential for various applications.
With a corresponding action plan, Berlin had set itself the goal of establishing drones as an everyday mode of transport in just a few years.
According to a market study by the Association of Unmanned Aviation in the spring, the number of commercially operated drones in Germany is expected to triple to 132,000 in 2025.
dpa
