ALTI UAS reconfigures drone for UAV purposes

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer ALTI UAS has announced the launch of a search and rescue version of its ALTI Transition VTOL UAV.

The new UAV version comes after some of the worst wildfires swept through the company’s home country of South Africa. The ALTI Transition SAR ‘Orange’ is specifically designed for search and rescue according to ALTI UAS, and has a unique vibration damping mount for the combustion engine that allows for up to 12 hours of endurance per flight with a 900km range.

According to Duran De Villiers, Owner and Director at ALTI UAS, the ALTI Transition SAR ‘Orange’ is able to capture precise, detailed footage and information from above plus use its thermal cameras to allow fire crews to see through smoke. He continued: “Another massive advantage is the ability to fly when it’s too dangerous for manned aircraft to fly, there was a fatal accident with a local firefighting helicopter pilot that died during the recent fires here in Knysna, I actually flew with him once and it’s a great loss, if we can assist in preventing further losses with our technology, then we are doing our job.”

It is a pure VTOL UAV and transitions from hover to fixed-wing flight mode, while the modular frame allows for easy transporting. It does not need any additional equipment to launch and can support a wide range of payloads with a capacity of up to 1.5kg.

“The ALTI Transition drastically cuts down on expenses, keep rescuers safe by doing most of the dangerous work, and ultimately speeds up all efforts related to the entire rescue. After all, every second counts in these types of situations,” Duran added.