AeroVironment Unveils Quantix, Designed to be a Complete Drone Solution

One of the big questions that many operators find themselves needing to sort out is whether a multi-rotor or fixed wing drone is going to be the right solution for them. There are advantages and disadvantages for each, and the right choice often depends on the project, which means certain operators can find themselves having to purchases multiple drones. Hybrid models exist, but they often end up not being able to satisfy the needs of a commercial operator. The Quantix from AeroVironment is designed to meet those needs by allowing commercial operators to take advantage of fixed wing and multi-rotor capabilities in one platform.

Announced at Drone World Expo 2016, the Quantix combines the vertical takeoff and landing advantages of multirotors with the range, reliability and efficiency benefits of fixed-wing aircraft. The product is designed to appeal to operators in agriculture, energy, transportation, utilities and more.

AeroVironment spent serious time figuring out how enterprise customers wanted and needed to capture drone data in order to make better decisions. While that might seem like a simple request and requirement, Tom Stone, Quantix product line manager, mentioned it was easier said than done, especially as it relates to ease of use. It was something Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chief executive and president backed up.

“Our customers told us they want to focus on running their businesses, not on becoming drone experts.” Nawabi said.  “That’s why we designed our highly automated system from the ground up to make it easy for them to get the insights they need so they can proceed with certainty.  From an easy-to-use and reliable drone, to easy-to-access analytics, customers will benefit from our industry-leading drone and sensor technologies, proven reliable by the most exacting customers in the harshest environments on the planet.”

Quantix is designed to put together the advantages of vertical liftoff and horizontal flight to acquire data quickly and easily.  It also includes “land now” and “return home” command safety features and is designed to be able to cover 400 acres in 45 minutes.

AeroVironment set out to create an end-to-end ecosystem that is designed to be a complete and easy to use drone solution. The end-to-end ecosystem is realized in their one touch planning and launch, the instant analysis that is able to be provided and access to the online analytics solutions center.

Pricing info has not yet been released, but look for the Quantix to be available starting in the spring of 2017.