There are different types of drones meant for commercial or personal use. There are also specific rules and laws that regulate the operations of drones in different places. For instance, both personal and commercial drones should not fly above crowds of people.
In other words, you may not fly your drone above a group of people in open spaces like beaches or events. The primary reason for this regulation is to ensure the safety of the people. Anything can happen to a drone midflight, and it can pose a danger to the people below.
However, the Nexus drone parachute by Indemins brings some changes to that regulation. DJI drones, in particular, can now fly over crowds as long as they install the add-on UAV recovery parachute system. The development is still new and limited to certain types of camera drones.
The Indemnis Nexus Parachute
The Nexus parachute system by Indemnis Company recently got ASTM certification for use mainly on DJI Inspire 2 Drone. The company’s newly certified product means that the operators can now legally fly their drones above small groups of people.
The new development marks the first time when such a device receives certification. The operators should always make sure that their drones have the parachute before they fly them in places where there are people. The company also hopes to customize the product to fit on other types of drones apart from the DJI Inspire 2 Drone.
The parachute for drones also comes as a relief to drone owners following reports that other DJI drones are falling during flight. They fall from the sky, and no one knows why this is happening. For instance, the DJI Matrice 200 model drones can suddenly lose power and during flight without any warning and drop straight down.
Even if there appears to be a battery charge remaining in the drone, the problem occurs. As a result, the Civil Aviation Authority, particularly in the UK, issued a warning to drone pilots to keep their devices away from people. When the drone loses power midflight, it falls direct to the ground which can lead to unexpected injuries.
Credit: Indemnis.com
How The Indemnis Nexus Parachute Functions?
The Nexus parachute UAV recovery system plays a pivotal role, and it acts as a safety measure when the drone fails. The system straps onto the DJI drone, and it also has sensors that can detect any anomalies during flight.
A ballistic launcher deploys the parachute if something goes wrong during the flight. When the drone develops a fault, the parachute system facilitates safe landing to prevent any danger to the people. A parachute helps the drone to glide such that it can achieve slow landing instead of crashing which can lead to injuries.
According to the company, the parachute comes out at a speed of about 90 miles per hour. It takes only about 30 milliseconds for the chute to come out. A person operating the drone may not see the changes taking place within a brief period.
The parachute pops out of a tube that inflates to keep its lines away from the body of the drone. The system is also designed to ensure that it does not affect the propellers of the drone. When a drone crashes, its propellers usually get damaged, and this might pose some challenges to repair it.
Therefore, apart from ensuring the safety of the people, the parachute system also helps to protect the entire drone unit from severe damage. Some technical faults are minor, and they do not warranty the destruction of the device.
Considerations For Parachute Certification
The Nexus parachute is supposed to pass at least 45 functionality tests to get approval for certification. The regulatory authority is primarily concerned about safety issues of the people hence the parachute undergoes rigorous tests.
The tests examine the parachute system in five failure scenarios to ensure that it does not pose a danger to passersby. The DJI got the ASTM certification after all tests proved that it is safe to operate the device with the new parachute system.
The Nexus by Indemnis plans to offer a similar version of the parachute system on the Matrice 200 and 600 models. These two series of drones should get parachute certification by the end of 2019. Matrice 200 drone experienced some setbacks of falling unexpectedly from the sky in 2018. However, the company is working on the modalities to address the problem and introduce the new parachute system.
