Intel Falcon 8+ System Currently Available In Europe

The latest commercial drone on the market ... at least in Europe ... is the Intel Falcon 8+ octocopter, which was introduced at the Intergeo conference in Hamburg, Germany this week.

Writing on the Intel blog, Josh Walden, Intel's senior vice president for new technology, says that the new aircraft is based around the AscTec Falcon 8 octocopter built by Ascending Technologies (AscTec), which is a subsidiary of Intel.

"This advanced system includes the Intel Falcon 8+ UAV, Intel Cockpit for ground control, as well as the Intel Powerpack to power the UAV. The Intel Falcon 8+ is our first Intel-branded commercial drone," Walden writes.

"It is also powered with the triple-redundant AscTec Trinity autopilot. The system provides detailed images down to millimeter accuracy and gives valuable structural analysis that helps users detect and prevent further damage to infrastructure. Operators will have tremendous opportunities to generate valuable aerial precision data.

"Drones are an important computing platform for the future, and Intel is positioning itself at the forefront of this opportunity to provide the compute, sensor, communications and cloud integration for the growing drone ecosystem."

According to Intel's fact sheet for the aircraft, the patented V-form octocopter provides full electronic system redundancy, which features redundant batteries, redundant communication between all flight-relevant components and redundant sensing

The aircraft is powered with AscTec Trinity technology – a triple-redundant autopilot with three redundant inertial measurement units that compensate for external influences like electromagnetic fields or strong winds. The UAS has automated aerial-sensing solutions with best-in-class onboard sensors, providing detailed orthography down to millimeter accuracy ground sample distance (GSD). Consistent waypoint automation enables reproducible flights for valuable structural analysis.

The Intel Falcon 8+ system shares similar features with its predecessor, the AscTec Falcon 8: best performance and weight-to-payload ratio in the entire market; highest stability in harsh conditions; easily exchangeable and deeply integrated payloads; best-in-class safety including unmatched robustness against magnetic field disturbances; and high-precision GPS.

One caveat: The Falcon 8 and Falcon 8+ devices have not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. These devices are not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

(Image provided by Intel)

FMI: http://simplecore.intel.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/10/Intel-Falcon-8-Fact-Sheet.pdf