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The HorseFly UAV, designed for the package delivery market
AMP Holding Inc. has announced that its AMP Trucks subsidiary has successfully designed and flown a prototype of its new HorseFly™ battery-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Steve Burns, AMP CEO said, “HorseFly is the logical extension of our mission to help companies better manage their logistics operations. Whether a company wants to deliver its packages by truck or by aerial vehicle, we want to be able to answer their needs.”
Built in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, the eight rotor aircraft uses advanced motor controls to manage the dynamic forces such as wind gusts associated with flight.
“Our years of designing battery systems and motor control systems for our electric cars and trucks gives us a wealth of experience on how to control and power an aerial vehicle. Like ground-based electric vehicles, the best battery will win. This isn’t a hobbyist venture, we’re working on an industrial strength, professional grade battery pack to ensure reliability and longer flight times” Burns added.
When mated to a Workhorse Electric Truck, the HorseFly™ can quickly recharge from the large battery in the Workhorse truck. With delivery trucks scattered within almost any region during the day, the UAV can make short flights from the vehicle, as opposed to flying from a warehouse for each delivery.
Under an aviation law enacted in 2012 permitting the use of drones for public safety, commercial use of drones is still prohibited, however most aviation law experts expect that the 2012 law will be extended to include commercial use of drones late this year or early in 2015.
