Elistair Launches New Tethered Drone System

A French drone company has roped a segment of the growing tethered UAV market with a new model.

Lyon-based Elistair recently launched the ORION UAS, a fully automated tethered drone system the company says will offer ease of use and flexibility for clients.

Created for “semi-persistent” aerial surveillance and telecommunications functions, the ORION is taking aim at the public-safety, defense and law-enforcement sectors for security and crisis management missions.

“Fully designed for extended flight times, ORION UAS is based on strong industrial components. It integrates Elistair’s patented micro-tether system Safe-T and ensures a secured and continuous power supply from the ground,” a company spokesperson said.

The model offers a 10-hour mission endurance with a “patented micro-tether system Safe-T [that] ensures a secured and continuous power supply from the ground.”

“The structure of the ORION drone is designed to sustain fierce winds with a maximum stability for its size-factor,” the company statement reports. The ORION boast X30 optical zoom and can detect a moving person over several miles. The micro-tether deploys high-speed and interference-free data transmission technology, and Flir and Sony industrial sensors.”

Tethered drones (think of them as drones-on-a-rope) have grown as an option for several agencies and companies looking for a stable and long-flying UAS systems.

Last year, Homeland Security announced the launch of a tethered drone to surveil Trump National Golf Course in New Jersey during a presidential vacation. “The Proof of Concept will help determine the potential future use of tethered sUAS in supporting the Agency’s protective mission,” a DHS release stated.

Earlier in 2017, Massachusetts-based CyPhy Works provided tethered UAV security for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. CyPhy offers the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications platform, a patented microfilament tethered system.

“It’s a surprisingly efficient and effective solution for keeping a drone in one place,” CyPhy Works founder and CTO Helen Greiner said. “We see growth in traffic management, oil and gas, asset management, hazardous incident response… anywhere you might need an eye in the sky.”

In 2017, MMC tested a tethered drone system to preserve telecommunications in the Chinese city Jiashan in the Zhejiang Province following heavy, seasonal flooding of the Yangtze River.