ZM Interactive (ZMI) announced the newest additions to its line of xFold drones, the xFold Dragon, capable of lifting up to 1,000 pounds, and the Dragon Hybrid, with a flight time of 1.5 hours on battery and more than eight hours with a hybrid system.
The company says its xFold drones are also the only industrial UAS that can switch between x4 (quad), x6 (hexa), X8 (octo) and X12 (dodeca) configurations in minutes.
The xFold drone is customizable for any mission, as pilots can swap configurations in minutes. This includes adding robotic arms for delivery, extinguisher ball droppers for firefighting, sprayers for agriculture, or sensors for 3D mapping. Designed, manufactured, built and assembled by ZMI in the U.S. using proprietary components, the military-grade commercial drones are weather resistant and made to fly in inclement conditions.
The xFold line of Dragon super carrier drones includes five different sizes and capacities. Payload for the five Dragon units include 100 pounds, 300 pounds, 500 pounds and 1,000 pounds.
“We are constantly improving on our designs to make them suitable for every industry and every use," said ZMI CEO Ziv Maron. "Our customers come to us with an idea and our technology continues to rise to the challenge–these capabilities are only the beginning and we have more exciting updates coming in 2021.”
The xFold Dragon is currently being used by several customers, including Dynatics, NASA JPL, Livermore Labs, Israel Defence Force, U.S. Military, USDA, and police and fire departments. Bell Helicopter, which was granted FAA Experimental Registration on multiple xFold aircrafts in 2019, is also using the xFold Dragon.
xFold Dragons are being used in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Israel.
Demos will be held in January 2021 in San Francisco. They will feature heavy cargo delivery, including to offshore vessels, as well as long-distance operations, and search-and-rescue operations.
Source: ZMI
