Produced by Schiebel and Nordic Unmanned, Camcopter S-100, the world’s first full-scale offshore UAV, performed its first cargo flight.
According to the news released by airrecognition.com, Schiebel and Nordic Unmanned successfully proved to Norwegian energy company Equinor that their drone Camcopter S-100 can deliver cargo on an offshore platform. This is the first time in the world that a drone has ever delivered a cargo on a full-scale operation to an active petrol and gas rig (Troll A).
The delivery drill simulated an urgent parts request by gas drilling rig Troll A. Camcopter S-100 successfully flew 100 km from Mongstad, the 3D printer facility of spare parts to Troll A rig situated in the Northern Sea. After delivering the spare parts, the drone flew around the rig platform for surveillance before returning to Mongstad.
Flight tests were also conducted for a successful search and rescue operation. This simulated mission was subjected to a “man overboard” scenario, and the drone successfully spotted and rescued a mannequin figure dropped on the sea. Following the rescue, Camcopter S-100, using L3 Harris Wescam real-time Electro-Optical / Infra-red camera and Automated Identification Systems gave updated simultaneous location and footage to control station.
Schiebel Group Chairman Hans Georg Schiebel said “This was an excellent exercise to prove S-100’s capabilities on petrol and gas industry and its capabilities on naval skills. We are especially experienced on long-range unmanned naval flights, under extreme weather conditions. S-100 drone’s incredible capabilities and capable systems were proved once again.”
The exercise shows a bright future for the possibility of drones and unmanned systems being actively utilized in the civilian sectors.
S-100 Camcopter
S-100 Camcopter is capable of lifting up and landing down while carrying multiple variants of cargo. It has the capability of flying on full load for several hours on 100 km/H. S-100 Camcopter can travel autonomously using predetermined GPS spots or be directly controlled by a pilot control unit.
Missions can be planned and engaged with a simple “point and click” graphical user interface. High definition live footage of the cargo carried can be transferred to control station in real-time. Backup flight computers control a “Fly-by-wire (FBW)” technology which allows the drone complete its flight and mission even under difficult electromagnetic environments.
