New Generation of UAVs at AIMEX 2013

The Aibotix Aibot X6 and SwissDrones Dragon 35 are the new generation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that will be one of the highlights at the Leica Geosystems Mining stand at AIMEX this year. The UAVs are crafted to cater to a wide spectrum of applications, providing various safety and productivity benefits for both mining and non-mining scopes of work.

The Aibot X6 hexacopter features advanced, multi-sensor, intelligent guidance systems that make it very suitable to operate commercial UAV currently on the market. Aibotix, the maker of the vertical take-off and landing Aibot X6 UAV, announced in March 2013 that Leica Geosystems and its partners had been awarded worldwide distribution rights for the Aibot X6.

AIMEX 2013 also heralds the Australian announcement of the Leica SwissDrones dual-rotor UAV. Known as the SwissDrones 'Dragon 35', this streamlined synchropter as seen at MINExpo 2012, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, caused a buzz in the mining market by setting an entirely new standard for UAV technology. The Dragon 35 boasts superior payload capacity and flying time endurance whilst tightly integrating Leica Geosystems’ multispectral metric camera and imaging technologies. SwissDrones in Switzerland has granted Leica Geosystems the licence for worldwide distribution of the Dragon 35.

UAVs are becoming increasingly important in many of the applications served by Leica Geosystems’ solutions. The clear safety and productivity benefits when UAV technology is used for aerial mapping and imagery in mining has become a much sought-after alternative to the costly and time-consuming piloted aeroplane and helicopter solutions currently used. Unrestricted positioning of various measuring technologies on the UAV platforms will spawn a plethora of new applications as the full potential of this transformative UAV technology unfolds.

For many critical applications, access is risky, impossible or simply too time consuming using conventional methods or platforms, said Rüdiger Wagner, general manager of solutions at Leica Geosystems’ geospatial solutions division. They chose the Aibotix Aibot X6 because it is one of the best aerial platforms available for safe, reliable manoeuvring of important payloads, not only in tight spaces, he added.

Jörg Lamprecht, managing director of Aibotix, commented that Leica Geosystems is synonymous with spatial information products, and an ideal partner for distribution of Aibotix UAVs. This is exciting teamwork from two companies that deliver pioneering solutions to difficult problems, especially when one has been doing so for nearly 200 years. Existing segments will be benefit and new markets will be discovered as great products from Leica Geosystems reach new heights in more places on Aibotix UAVs, Lamprecht added.

AIMEX will take place from 20-23 August 2013 in Sydney, Australia.