Modovolo Co-Founder and CEO Justin Name Discusses the Progressive Bicycle Wheel-Impressed Drone
In a world the place high-cost drones with restricted flight occasions are frequent, Modovolo is breaking the mildew with its Modovolo Raise. On this DRONELIFE Unique interview, Co-founder and CEO Justin Name shared insights into how this modular, bicycle wheel-inspired drone might supply each prolonged flight occasions and affordability. Although nonetheless in improvement, the Raise’s design displays Modovolo’s dedication to rethinking what drones can do—and the way far they will go.
A Drone Impressed by the Bicycle Wheel
“Should you have a look at the Raise Pod, you’re in all probability pondering it seems like a bicycle wheel. And also you’re proper,” stated Name. He defined that Modovolo drew on the wheel’s light-weight and rugged design. “The bicycle wheel design is an underappreciated technological marvel. It’s tremendous gentle, robust, and rugged. That’s why we used it as our inspiration for the Raise Pod.”
By mimicking the bicycle wheel, Modovolo was capable of scale back the Raise’s weight dramatically. Weighing solely 2.5 kilos empty and seven.6 kilos with batteries, the Raise Quad configuration is round 50% lighter than a DJI Matrice 300. However, as Name factors out, weight isn’t the one function that makes the Raise distinctive.
Key options contributing to flight effectivity embody:
- Hub: “We’ve designed the hub so the propeller blades spin at an insanely low RPM, however the motor spins quick. That is very environment friendly.”
- Rim: The rim acts as a ducted fan, just like a jet engine, enhancing effectivity and forming the core connection level to different Raise Pods and Utility Pods.
- Propeller Blade: “Our proprietary propeller blade offers probably the most thrust of any drone on the market—and it’s nonetheless extra environment friendly than something available on the market.”
- Spokes: “The spokes create wonderful structural rigidity, but they’re just about weightless.”
In keeping with Name, the result’s a drone that achieves as much as two hours of flight time on a single cost, a feat that’s uncommon within the business drone world.
Modular Configurations Constructed for Any Use Case
For Modovolo, the Raise’s modularity is simply as important as its effectivity. “There are really limitless configurations,” Name shared. He described three main configurations—Quad, Hex, and Octo—that Modovolo initially chosen as a result of they align greatest with current flight modes in Ardupilot. Name famous, nevertheless, that as Modovolo invests extra in software program improvement, the Raise will develop into much more configurable for particular missions.
The modular design hasn’t come with out its challenges. Early prototypes featured inflexible structural members, however these had been too heavy to permit a lot flight time. The turning level got here when Modovolo’s CTO, Arion, determined to attempt utilizing spokes, though he and Name initially had doubts concerning the concept. “Threading the spokes was a serious PIA and took hours,” Name admitted. Nevertheless, the choice proved pivotal, creating a light-weight construction that lastly aligned with the Raise’s design objectives.
Reaching Affordability Via Simplicity
With a worth level of $6,000, the Modovolo Raise is considerably extra reasonably priced than comparable fashions, such because the DJI Matrice 300. Name attributes this to the bicycle wheel-inspired construction: “It’s inflexible, robust, and light-weight with none costly unique supplies. It’s additionally a quite simple design, and that radically cuts down on manufacturing prices.”
By maintaining prices low, Modovolo goals to make the Raise accessible to a broad vary of industries. Name defined, “We’ve got a very good downside in that the modular and endlessly configurable design means it may be used throughout all industries and use circumstances. We haven’t discovered a single use case it wouldn’t work for.”
Potential Purposes in Protection, Agriculture, and Development
In keeping with Name, the Raise’s design opens doorways for purposes throughout varied fields. Initially, Modovolo is targeted on three core markets:
- Protection: With strategic partnerships in place with giant protection contractors, Modovolo sees purposes for digital warfare. “They’ve been in search of lengthy flight time however low-cost platforms as a result of that’s what the DoD desires now,” Name stated.
- Agriculture: The Raise’s configuration permits it to deal with a variety of duties. “In agriculture, we are able to do every part from surveying to spraying, however proper now, we’re centered on area of interest purposes like pollen distribution,” Name shared.
- Business Use: Name highlighted that a lot of the Raise’s pre-orders are from the development trade, the place the drone will help photogrammetry and LiDAR purposes. “We’ll have a common mount Utility Pod so customers can add no matter payload they need,” Name stated, emphasizing the Raise’s flexibility for various payload wants.
Bringing the Modovolo Raise to Market
Presently, Modovolo is in search of take a look at pilots with expertise flying Ardupilot and bigger business drones to assist refine the Raise. “We want pilots who’re prepared to fly below our testing protocols and provides suggestions,” stated Name. The info from these take a look at flights will information ultimate changes earlier than the primary business model hits the market.
Future Improvements
Trying ahead, Name shared thrilling plans for the Modovolo Raise. The workforce is engaged on a VTOL variant of the Raise Pod, which can retain the modular design whereas providing vertical takeoff and touchdown capabilities. Modovolo can also be designing a brand new game-controller-inspired, NDAA-compliant handset that’s modular and reasonably priced. “We’re all about modularity,” Name added, hinting that Utility Pods designed for particular use circumstances could possibly be on the horizon.
Challenges and Classes Realized
All through improvement, the Modovolo workforce confronted obstacles that examined their persistence and creativity. “Tuning was a nightmare,” Name shared. The Raise’s distinctive design meant they couldn’t depend on commonplace tuning algorithms and needed to create their very own course of, which took months. In one other occasion, one in every of their early prototypes melted in the summertime warmth as a result of it was produced from plastic that couldn’t deal with temperatures over 85 levels. “By the point we bought to our ‘high secret testing facility,’ it had melted!” Name recalled, laughing.
A Daring New Thought in Drone Design
The Modovolo Raise remains to be in improvement, however with its modular, bicycle wheel-inspired design, it guarantees a brand new degree of adaptability and effectivity for business drones. As Name and his workforce proceed refining the Raise, they’re optimistic about its potential throughout industries, from protection to agriculture. Modovolo’s strategy to drone design might reshape expectations round flight time, value, and performance within the business drone sector.
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