Grasshopper Mobility plans autonomous driving and flying heavy-duty drone
A heavy-duty drone from a Spanish start-up that can also be driven is intended to relieve traffic on the roads and enable faster transportation.
Rendering of the Grasshopper e350 Flying Cargo Van. On the left with the wings folded out, on the right with the wings folded in for driving on the road.
(Image: Grasshopper Mobility (Screenshot))
The Spanish start-up Grashopper Mobility is planning to develop and build an autonomous heavy-duty drone called the e350 Flying Cargo Van. It will be able to move heavy loads of up to 350 kg and also drive on the road. The aim is for the flying vehicle to relieve truck traffic on the road. It is also intended to enable particularly fast and cost-effective transportation of goods.
According to current plans, the e350 has a tub-shaped body that offers 1.87Â mÂł of storage space for transport goods on a standard pallet (loaded up to one meter high) weighing up to 350 kg. According to the company, the cargo space should be able to be filled or unloaded by people or robots. The latter will make it possible to automate the entire transport chain.
Driving and flying
It helps that the 4Â m long and 3Â m high, electrically powered heavy-duty drone has six wheels, which also makes it mobile on roads. The drone can therefore first take off from the starting point, fly close to the destination and then cover the "last mile" on the road. Grasshopper Mobility is not saying how fast the drone can travel at maximum. However, it should be able to travel up to 10 km.
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In the air, it will go much faster: 18 electrically powered, quiet turbines, which are housed on two fold-out wings with an 8.4 m span that are offset in height, should accelerate the all-electric drone up to 220 km/h with a maximum range of around 200 km. When folded up so that it can be driven on roads, the width is reduced to 3 m. According to Grasshopper Mobility's plan, the e350 will then be able to travel autonomously in the air and on the ground.
The batteries will also be replaced and charged fully automatically. According to the start-up, long downtimes at the destination are to be avoided by swapping the batteries for fully charged ones. The company is also planning a hybrid version of the e350, which will be powered by hydrogen. It will then be somewhat slower in the air, but will have a longer range of around 600 km.
Grasshopper Mobility wants to use the e350 Flying Cargo Van to ensure same-day delivery of goods. The cost of this should be less than 2.50 euros per kilogram.
However, it may take some time before the project is implemented: an initial, scaled prototype is due to be completed by 2026. Grasshopper Mobility has already secured three international partners and three other supporters for implementation. The first pilot projects could start from around 2028.
(olb)
