Drone specialist Freefly Systems introduced their new drone platform Astro to complement their workhorse ALTA line of professional drones. Freefly Systems are best known in the independent filmmaking community for their Mōvi gimbals. But they have been making professional drones before the Mōvi. As a matter of fact, the gimbal was kind of a by-product of camera-drone-development. Freefly just omitted the drone itself, reengineered the camera mount, and voilá, they got themselves an earthbound camera stabilizer. Freefly’s products are at the higher-end of the professional spectrum and cater to larger productions and for industrial applications. (Mapping, inspection, search, and rescue etc.) Nevertheless, Freefly has ventured into consumer products, too. 4 Rotors, 2 batteries, foldable, sturdy build. Image Credit: Freefly Systems The Astro Drone Platform The Astro is a rugged mid-range commercial quadcopter drone platform. It’s primarily aimed at non-filmmaking professional applications like inspection of buildings and structures, first responder applications (think: infrared imaging for firefighting), and surveying. However, the 60 megapixel Sony a7R IV camera makes it interesting for independent filmmakers, and cinematic applications as well. The gimbal that has been developed for the Astro features a quick-release, so it’s possible to change payloads swiftly. The Astro features LTE Cloud connectivity, a Linux-based on-board computer to crunch data, and RTK (Real-Time Kinematic — centimeter-accurate GNSS positioning of the drone). Integration via the Auterion Air, Ground- and Cloud SDK is possible. Freefly claim that setup times of the foldable drone from case to flight is less than two minutes. The aircraft...
Published By: CineD - Thursday, 8 October, 2020