Robotic Research, a developer of autonomy and robotics technologies for defense and commercial applications, has announced the debut of the Pegasus Mini, a smaller version of the previously-introduced Pegasus transformable hybrid UAV/UGV (unmanned aerial vehicle/unmanned ground vehicle) that can both drive on land and fly. The new transformable drone will be introduced at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.
The combination system provides a new range of capabilities for industry, first responders, law enforcement and military that previously had not been possible with single-mode autonomous drones or land vehicles. Pegasus Mini combines advanced GPS-denied mapping with fully autonomous high-speed flying and driving capabilities, providing the extra reach that a UAV or UGV alone cannot provide. Potential applications include inspection, search & rescue, rapid response, oil and gas, law enforcement, public safety, and more.
Features of the Pegasus Mini hybrid UAV/UGV include:
- Autonomous operation in the air and on the ground.
- Compact and similar in size to a football (approximately 16 inches by 8 inches)
- Weight of 4.2 pounds
- Payload capacity of up to 2 pounds
- Up to 30 minutes of operation in flight mode
- Up to two hours of operation in drive mode
Alberto Lacaze, president of Robotic Research, commented: “We are excited to be at CES to showcase Pegasus as a new line of transformable robots and debut the Pegasus Mini, which offers a super-compact yet powerful drone and land vehicle combination capable of bringing remote cameras and sensors into previously unreachable locations. This small but mighty system has immense versatility and reach like no other robotic vehicle, flying at very high speeds with a payload capacity that can carry important tools to reach critical locations in unpredictable environments. We look forward to leveraging these unique features of the Pegasus Mini to provide more flexible, easily deployable, autonomous systems for customers in both the commercial and federal markets.”