This summer a small drone managed something that even larger flying robots had not yet been able to do: Equipped with an HD camera, and in adverse conditions, it set off from Switzerland and crossed the Saint-Gotthard Massif towards Italy.

Even though it weighs less than 5 kg, the md4-1000 microdrone kept on its pre-programmed path with strong winds and a differences in altitude of more than 1,600 m. The record required months of planning and which was accompanied and documented by a professional stunt team in helicopters.

Now the company behind the experiment, Siegener microdrones GmbH, has published the film material of the record flight for the first time:

 

 

The unmanned aerial system, which was equipped with the latest GPS technology from u-blox and an HD camera from Sony, ascended and descended along a pre-programmed path over the mountain range while encountering strong winds and avoiding web-like power cables.

Statistics from the recorded flight:

Total length of flight: 12,223 m

Total flying time: 22 min, 26 sec

Maximum altitude: 2,174 m

Overall traveled vertical height: 1,587 m

Altitude of takeoff zone: 1,453 m

Altitude of landing zone: 1,307 m

Vertical height traveled from takeoff zone: 720 m

A video describing the design of the robot:

 

 

Source: Siegener microdrones