{"id":7247,"date":"2024-04-15T16:25:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/?p=7247"},"modified":"2024-04-15T16:25:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:25:52","slug":"chinas-flagship-delivery-drone-performs-double-duty-as-a-power-line-de-icer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/chinas-flagship-delivery-drone-performs-double-duty-as-a-power-line-de-icer\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Flagship Delivery Drone Performs Double Duty as a Power Line \u201cDe-Icer\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J-w2QJswteI?si=AIJCNn5erNoShhAt\" width=\"740\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhen electric power transmission lines become coated with ice, the risk of malfunctions, breakages, cracking, decreased performance and even system breakdowns increase dramatically.\u00a0 China has faced this problem for years, with provinces like Hunan witnessing power outages lasting two weeks or more due to iced power lines.\u00a0 Hundreds of thousands of local residents trapped in the dark and the cold have seen their lives placed at risk while lost economic revenues typically run into the billions.\u00a0 Finding a solution has become an urgent national priority.<\/p>\n<p>Aerial drones, especially equipped for deicing missions, is one possible solution.\u00a0 A number of China\u2019s state-run power companies have turned to an unmanned aerial aircraft known as the \u201cSpitfire\u201d that lands atop power lines and heats them with a flame to melt the ice.\u00a0 This method is faster, cheaper and safer than deploying ground-based deicing teams, but it\u2019s still time consuming work.\u00a0 Sophisticated logistics and communications systems are needed to attach the drones to the power lines and to remotely pilot them.\u00a0 And heating the power lines with a shooting flame contains safety risks of its own.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Chinese authorities showcased a faster but far more primitive deicing method:\u00a0 A heavy-lift drone, equipped with a 10-foot long hanging metal beam attached to a tether cable, flies over the power lines and proceeds to deliver a powerful slap with the beam to dislodge the ice.\u00a0 The method seems crude, even reckless, but videos of the drone conducting the deicing work suggest that it works \u2013 rather efficiently, in fact.\u00a0 The drone swoops down on a single transformer and systematically slaps away sheets of ice, with great precision, one power line at a time.\u00a0 It takes the drone less than a minute to clear an entire set of lines, far outpacing the work of \u201cSpitfire\u201d drones.<\/p>\n<p>And this is no specially configured infrastructure drone. It\u2019s actually a heavy lift cargo delivery aircraft, the FlyCart 30, manufactured by DJI, the world\u2019s leading drone designer and producer. The FlyCart 30, representing the company\u2019s first foray into the drone delivery market, was first released last November.\u00a0 It\u2019s already begun flying across China and may soon be introduced overseas.\u00a0 But now, with an additional unforeseen commercial application, the FlyCart may offer DJI still greater gains.<\/p>\n<p>The FlyCart 30 turns out to be quite versatile. While ideally suited for heavy cargo deliveries \u2013 for machine replacement parts and medical supplies, for example \u2013 the drone also comes equipped with sophisticated \u201csense-and-avoid\u201d technology to allow for careful maneuvering around potential obstacles \u2013 including power lines.\u00a0 It\u2019s also durable enough to fly in inclement weather and extreme sub-zero temperatures (-20 \u00b0C to -45 \u00b0C) which makes it suitable for\u00a0 de-icing missions.\u00a0 And the drone\u2019s infrared thermal cameras allow it to conduct operations in low-visibility conditions, including complete darkness \u2013 allowing for round-the- lock operations, as needed.<\/p>\n<p>Has DJI stumbled upon a new niche for its delivery drone?\u00a0 The company is facing enormous competitive pressure in the US and Europe, and is looking to expand sales wherever it can.\u00a0 It\u2019s even taken to calling the FlyCart30 an \u201caerial de-icer,\u201d in recognition of the drone\u2019s flexibility and versatility.\u00a0 The company wants to compete with other Chinese retail delivery drones at home.\u00a0 With support from the Chinese government, it may be looking to take on the Spitfire.<\/p>\n<p>DJI isn\u2019t the only drone firm that is adapting itself to the de-icing mission.\u00a0 Aerones, a Latvian-based UAV company, has been de-icing large industrial wind turbines since 2020.\u00a0 The Aerones drone is massive in size and employs 36 propellers to lift a series of hoses that shoot warm water on the turbines.\u00a0 The water hoses are tethered to a ground-based supply source that also provides continuous battery power to the drone.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, a Canada-based company also began developing a prototype de-icing drone \u2013 this one for use with fixed wing aircraft at remote airports.\u00a0 While ground crews typically de-ice airplanes, use of a small aerial drone capable of servicing multiple locations could reduce their labor and infrastructure costs substantially.\u00a0 Canada\u2019s defense department is subsidizing the research in the hopes of developing a fleet of deicers for the country\u2019s military aircraft<\/p>\n<p>Some companies are also looking to adapt agricultural drones to remove ice and snow from office, warehouse and sports stadium roofs. Atlanta-based FairLifts has designed a deicing drone that sprays salt and chemicals to quickly melt ice from rooftops. The company also designs and deploys drones and helicopters for use in frost control to protect vulnerable agricultural crops.<\/p>\n<p>DJI is clearly not alone.\u00a0 As the drone industry continues to expand, and more players join the fray, finding double-duty applications for UAV platforms may be one way to capture additional niches \u2014 staving off the ever-rising competition for sales and market share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When electric power transmission lines become coated with ice, the risk of malfunctions, breakages, cracking, decreased performance and even system breakdowns increase dramatically.\u00a0 China has faced this problem for years, with provinces like Hunan witnessing power outages lasting two weeks or more due to iced power lines.\u00a0 Hundreds of thousands of local residents trapped in&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/chinas-flagship-delivery-drone-performs-double-duty-as-a-power-line-de-icer\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,21],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}