I found this quad while browsing through the James Dyson Awards. There is a link above the pictures to translate to English.
I couldn't find much on the company but they seem to be planning for this to be part of a full UAV system that marks the location of Avalanche victims.
I like the simplicity of the design. This may inspire my next quad...
Comments
http://www.rc-modellbau-shop.com/modelle/hubschrauber-quadrocopter.jpg
I really wish Universities would teach their students to come up with their own product designs, and that those designs be specific to address problems that haven't already been identified by half the planet.
At the very least, if products are intended to be commercialized then the developer should determine whats already on the market. If there is no USP (like the ArduQuad's USP is that its open source and designed for ease of assembly by DIY enthusiasts) then potential buyers will only ever see it as one option of many in a very crowded market.
If it were just a learning or research project then a USP isn't such a big deal. But judging by the wording at the awards site "extension to the private market", it sounds like they might have a commercial agenda in which case they should have created a design that hadn't already been done before, and create that design with the specific goal of addressing a segment of the market that is either newly identified, or isn't already being over sold.
I love the folding design. Its very unique.
Function
Alcedo is a portable, autonomous avalanche drone. They locate and mark buried and thus makes possible an immediate rescue. The search process requires no human intervention and is fully automatic. Its intuitive user interface requires no additional technical knowledge and allows for quick action. With a speed of 10m / s (36 km / h) it is capable of a large area within a very short time to search and locate buried. Due to its maneuverability and agility equipment is the quadricopter the ideal solution for this task. This is first line for professional mountain guides and rescuers. In the future, it is conceivable that Alcedo can be used in the private sector tour.
Inspiration
Every year, avalanches murky unique snowsports experience. Untouched slopes skiers and snowboarders seduce the hills. On average every year in Switzerland, 25 people die in avalanches. If a person is buried by an avalanche, the time for recovery is short. During the first fifteen minutes, the survival rate is 80 percent. After that, the chances of survival decrease rapidly: After 30 minutes, the probability 40 percent, live to come out of the avalanche. Professional rescue teams meet, but only about 40 minutes after the first emergency call one. Alcedo supports the rescue of avalanche victims by the avalanche and buried autonomous departing Rauchpertarden labeled by. The rescuer can thus concentrate on the essential part of the rescue: The digging of avalanche victims.
Development
Alcedo emerged from a collaboration of five engineering students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and four industrial design students at the Zurich University of the Arts. As part of the bachelor's thesis at the ETH, a project of this complexity and size, and implemented can be initiated. While the mechanical engineering students with the technical feasibility were employed, have the industrial designer ZHdK the identity and design of the UAVs care. During the project, the two disciplines have merged more and more with each other. The interplay between design and technology makes Alcedo a useful tool in extreme situations. It helps to save lives.
The high altitude skiers these days carry a "pulse beacon" that can be captured with a small scanner by the Rescue party, so the quadcopter well only need to scan for the signal and get on top of it and lunch the smoke grenade.
I have to say this is a very impressive whey to put a quadcopter to use.
It could pinpoint up to 4 bacons and mark them .
Very Very useful stuff , if they manage to make it work .
I can probably help a little with the translation...
It is basically a design award, the text mainly describes the idea of locating people under avalanches (but does not say how). It was a cooperation of mechanical engineering and design students.
The beacons are described as smoke grenades to mark positions.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next