It goes without saying that a particular product will need to go through its fair share of tests before being released to the masses, and that is to weed out any operational issues that might arise later on so that customer satisfaction will be able to remain high. When it comes to drones, the same applies, and the flying Gimball video drone is certainly a unique machine as it has been specially designed in order to survive rough environments while maintaining its structural integrity. Of course, what better way to test it out than to send it into the ice cracks within the Swiss Alps?
Swiss company Flyability are the ones behind the Gimball, which has been described to be a “collision-resistant” drone, enabling professionals to explore what were previously inaccessible places. The drone’s flying and video equipment will be protected by a free-rotating spherical cage, enabling the Gimball to capture thermal information and high-definition imagery in real time.
Kicking off its life as a robotics project at École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, the inspiration behind the Gimball was nature yet again – as insects could literally bounce off a wall and continue moving. Hence, the Gimball was sent to deep icy fractures known as crevasses which are over 11,400 feet above sea level, where climbers have the risk of falling inside and getting trapped within.
Filed in . Read more about Drones. Source: news.discovery