Wherever surveillance from the air or
sensor measurement is required, deployment of the CAMCOPTER®
S-100 is feasible. This drone system especially stands
out for its hovering capabilities, which are of advantage
in many monitoring tasks. Fields of application for the
drone in the civil market are manifold and not limited
to anti-bootleg and anti-people-smuggling missions, search
for mineral and fossil fuel deposits, antipiracy actions,
harbor patrol, search and rescue as well as disaster support
and monitoring. Also routine monitoring of pipelines,
water lines, power lines, communication lines and large
factory premises and plants as well as its use for scientific
measurements and movie shoots present possible fields
of application.
Lately the S-100 performed power line
monitoring flights for several days in Austria. At an
average airspeed of 30 knots (55 km/h) also the poles,
surge arresters and isolators were inspected. High-definition
images taken with the L3 Wescam MX-10 payload were transmitted
to the control station in real time. The imagery identified
the areas of damage or corrosion as well as spots of bad
conductivity on the power lines, thus enabling teams of
technicians to focus only on the affected cables and towers.
It was the first time in Europe that a UAS performed these
inspection tasks, which are usually carried out by manned
helicopters.
The advantages of the CAMCOPTER® S-100
UAS for civil missions are obvious: This system is uniquely
capable of penetrating areas that may be too dangerous
for piloted aircraft or ground patrols. Its powerful surveillance
capabilities provide constant real-time information 24/7
without any need for prepared area and launch and/or recovery
support equipment. This drone system operates day and
night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond
line-of-sight capability of up to 200 km, both on land
and at sea. And last but not least, the S-100 UAS is far
more cost-effective than any manned alternative.
As Hans Schiebel, President of the Schiebel
Group, commented, "At Schiebel, we continually strive
for perfection through a process of relentless and iterative
improvement. This, of course, leads us to identify new
applications for the S-100 in the vast civil market. We
look forward to supporting our customers by meeting their
requirements at much lower cost than any similarly equipped
manned helicopter."
