Hydrogen-Powered Drone Can Fly for Hours at a Time

(Source: engadget.com)  

Even the nicer drones you can buy typically last for just minutes in the air, which isn’t much help if you’re delivering packages or shooting movies. Horizon Unmanned Systems (HUS) thinks it has a solution, however: hydrogen power.

Its recently unveiled Hycopter drone runs on a lightweight hydrogen fuel cell that should deliver up to 4 hours of flight time unloaded, and 2.5 hours when it’s carrying 2.2 pounds of cargo. That still may not sound like much, but it makes long-distance flights practical — it’s the difference between flying across the city and staying within the neighborhood. HUS won’t even fly the Hycopter’s prototype until later this year, but patience could well pay off if you’re tired of piloting robotic aircraft in half-hour bursts.

Continue Reading at engadget.com…

Alan Phillips

Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com,  a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights.  Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com