Numerous updates and new releases have been coming out of Intergeo, but the news about Wingtra partnering with Florida-based Lengemann Corporation is notable for a different reason. It speaks to a trend that we’ve seen happening throughout the space, and opens up opportunities around leveraging drone technology in a whole new way.

Wingtra is a Zurich based startup whose drone combines the benefits of multirotors and high endurance fixed-wing aircrafts. Their WingtraOne drone takes off and lands vertically like a multirotor, but flies like a fixed-wing airplane in air. Lengemann Corporation is one of the largest Topcon distributors of Machine Control, Lasers and Surveying equipment in the United State. As a result of this partnership, Lengemann customers in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama now have access to the new hybrid drone.

Stephanie Lambert presenting at Intergeo 2017.

The kind of efficiency and opportunities this drone can create were on full display at Intergeo 2017, where Stephanie Lambert from Wingtra presented “Drones bring green energy to the Swiss Alps.” The presentation showcased how the drone was able to gather more and better info than the project required, all in a faster and safer manner.

With its high payload capacities, the WingtraOne offers a variety of powerful sensors to generate high-resolution imagery for orthophotos, 3D reconstructions, cloud points and NDVI maps. This efficiency in flight gives it flight time of up to 55 minutes on a single battery, covering anywhere between 690 and 980 acres at 1.2in/px GSD depending on the specific sensor.

“It’s really a best of both world’s solution,” Lambert told Commercial UAV News. “You get the usability of a multi-rotor along with the ability to fly much longer and further.”

The kind of VTOL and autonomous capabilities the WingtraOne possesses are ones that can be applied in a variety of environments and markets, and the partnership with Lengemann Corporation means that many more users will have access to do so. WingtraOne will provide users with a drone that combines new capabilities related to area coverage, image quality and usability that are as powerful as they are unique.

To learn more about the WingtraOne, click here.