A Kickstarter campaign has raised $35,000 – with just $15,000 to go – for the development of a fixed-wing drone. The prototype can soar at speeds of 100 kph, as well as being able to conduct the vertical takeoff and landing of a regular drone.
The X PlusOne drone was designed by aerospace engineer JD Claridge. The design has been produced as both Google and Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven are both rushing to develop similar projects that allow drones to use fixed-wing flight for the sake of achieving greater speeds.
“I love the technology around drones and I’ve been involved with it, and as I’ve done that, I’ve really seen a need that’s not being addressed,” Claridge says on the Kickstarter fundraiser page.
“It’s a quadcopter combined with a flying wing,” he said. “The quadcopter gives you the ability for precision takeoff and landing and hover, and the flying wing gives you the capability for efficient forward flight.”
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Lucas 2012 Infos 