Flying cars are cool, but inspections autonomous VTOLs are more lucrative ventures

 

 

Terrafugia, the world’s first flying car launches Seeker, a quick and quiet autonomous VTOL.

Terrafugia announces the launch of a new brand, Commaris, and the brand’s first product, the Seeker, an innovative, electric, fixed-wing/VTOL hybrid aircraft designed explicitly for autonomous commercial aerial applications.

Terrafugia was founded in 2006 with the goal of delivering the world’s first practical flying car. After making steady progress, in 2017, Terrafugia was acquired by the Geely Holding Group and began leveraging contributions from sister companies Volvo Cars, Lotus Cars and CEVT. In early 2021, Terrafugia received the first FAA airworthiness certificate for a roadable aircraft in 6

As part of the Geely Technology Group, Terrafugia’s team is now focused on the launch of its new brand, Commaris, which delivers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial inspections in power, gas, oil, construction, agriculture, security, and other industries.

The SEEKER has a long-endurance capability with more than three hours of flight time without a battery change, saving time and reducing costs while supporting multiple payload configurations at a top speed of over 60 mph. The UAV employs an advanced, fully composite airframe with a wingspan of 15 feet and a payload lifting capability of up to 10 pounds. Its modular design is easy to assemble and disassemble in the field in under three minutes.

“We are very excited to launch our new brand, Commaris, and its first product, the SEEKER. This UAV is designed to perform a wide variety of commercial inspection operations in applications such as power, gas, oil, mapping, agriculture, and security,” said Kevin Colburn, President of Terrafugia and Commaris. “Our team of experienced aviation professionals has created an extremely capable, commercial-grade UAV that, in many situations, will deliver results that typical rotary-wing UAVs or helicopters cannot come close to providing.”

The SEEKER’s aerodynamic design includes powerful but quiet electric motors that help it achieve a noise signature of only 40 decibels on the ground and near-silence at 500 feet AGL. The UAV is the ideal aircraft for security, powerline patrols, and missions operating in noise-sensitive environments, ensuring operations will be completed quickly and quietly.

The SEEKER’s large payload-carrying capability will be customizable with a variety of modular options, such as a 30x optical zoom EO/IR camera for inspection, a 120-megapixel high-resolution camera for terrain mapping and 3D modeling, a six-band multispectral camera designed for precision agriculture analysis, a LiDAR system, a laser methane sensor, or a corona discharge sensor, most of which will feature the ability to stream data to the operator in near-real time.