Autel Robotics advertises the Dragonfish with the slogan, “Subvert Tradition, Command the future.” The Dragonfish is stated as having a maximum flight time of 120 minutes, an 18.6-mile video transmission range, and the ability to get in the air in under 4 minutes. The drone also boasts a 4k camera with 20x optical zoom and infrared detection from up to 200 meters away.
Dragonfish has a maximum flight speed of 67 miles per hour and can fly in winds of up to 31 miles per hour. The drone has a maximum take-off weight of 17.2 pounds, with 3.3 pounds being reserved for payloads. The Dragonfish is also accurate down to one centimeter with a measurement error of one part per million.
The drone from Autel Robotics is focused on public safety, firefighting, energy, traffic management, agricultural, and surveillance applications. It appears the website hasn’t been fully translated into English correctly just yet.
Intelligence and Autonomy
A big selling point for the drone is its intelligence and autonomous capabilities. The Dragonfish can complete a mission and return home automatically, track objects such as a stolen car, circle above a point of interest, fly at a constant height above the ground below, and complete multi-point missions. All of this is possible thanks to advanced algorithms that keep the drone in check and make it easier for the user to fly the drone.
Safety and Redundancy
Looking at the image above, we can see Autel has heavily focused on safety and creating redundant systems to make the Dragonfish as safe as it can. The Dragonfish has two batteries, IMU, barometers, compasses, and GPS RTK modules in case one stopped working, allowing the backup to kick into action. If the drone detects it’s about to stall or can’t continue flying in the current mode, it will change into multirotor mode, which adjusts all the propellers to swivel vertically to mimic a quad-copter.
Control surfaces and devices all have a dual CAN bus communication in case one connection goes bad. The drone also uses AI to continuously check its systems throughout the flight to detect faults before they occur.
Interchangeable Payload System
The Dragonfish currently has three first-party camera payloads and the ability for third-parties to create compatible payloads. The first of the three payloads is a 4k dual-sensor camera with a 4k 20x optical zoom main camera paired with a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera. The second is a triple sensor camera with a 4k 20x optical zoom camera, 48-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a radiometric thermal camera. The final payload option is a multispectral camera with an RGB 48-megapixel wide-angle camera and five 2-megapixel multispectral sensors.
Taking control
To control the Dragonfish, Autel Robotics has created the Autel Voyager software capable of advanced mission planning, intelligent tracking, flight history tracking, and other autonomous features. The company has also created a ground station with a 9.7-inch, 1000 nit display with antennas capable of the advertised 18.6-mile video transmission range.
| Dimensions |
2.3*1.29*0.46 m (L*W*H) |
| Weight |
7.5 kg (including two batteries, without gimbal) |
| Single Battery Weight |
1.3 kg |
| Max Payload |
1.5 kg |
| Max Takeoff Weight |
9 kg |
| Operating Frequency |
902-928 MHz，2.4000-2.4835 GHz，5.725-5.755GHz |
| EIRP (Equivalent radiated power) |
900MHz
FCC：< 30 dBm；
2.4 GHz
FCC：< 30 dBm
SRRC/CE/MIC：< 20 dBm；
5.8 GHz
SRRC/FCC：< 30 dBm
CE: < 14 dBm |
| Hovering Accuracy (P-mode with GPS) |
Vertical:
±0.1 m (Vision System enabled)
±0.5 m (GPS enabled)
±0.1 m (RTK enabled)
Horizontal:
±0.3 m (Vision System enabled)
±1.5 m (GPS enabled)
±0.1 m (RTK enabled) |
| RTK Positioning Accuracy |
When RTK enabled and fixed:
1 cm+1 ppm (Horizontal)
1.5 cm + 1 ppm (Vertical) |
| Max Angular Velocity |
Pitch: 180°/s,
Yaw: 60°/s |
| Max Pitch Angle |
20° |
| Max Roll Angle |
35° |
| Max Ascent Speed |
Vertical Flight Mode: 4 m/s
Fixed Wing Mode: 5 m/s |
| Max Descent Speed (vertical) |
Vertical Flight Mode: 3 m/s
Fixed Wing Mode: 5 m/s |
| Max Speed |
30 m/s |
| Service Ceiling Above Sea Level |
6000 m |
| Max Flight Time |
120 min |
| Supported Payloads |
Dual-Sensor, Triple-Sensor, Multispectral, Third Party Payloads |
| Supported Gimbal Configurations |
Fast Disassembly |
| Ingress Protection Rating |
IP43 |
| GNSS |
GPS+GLONASS+BeiDou+Galileo |
| Operating Temperature |
-20°C to 50°C (-4°F to 122° F) |
| Operating frequency |
902-928 MHz；2.4-2.4835 GHz |
| Max Transmitting Distance (unobstructed, free of interference) |
FCC：10 km
CE / MIC：5 km
SRRC：5 km |
| Operating frequency |
5.725 - 5.755 GHz |
| Protocol |
Wi-Fi Direct;
Wireless;
Display;
802.11a/g/n/ac;
Wi-Fi with 2×2 MIMO |
| Operating frequency |
2.400 - 2.4835 GHz
5.150 - 5.250GHz
5.650 - 5.755GHz
5.725 - 5.850 GHz |
| Battery |
Type: Li-Po
Capacity: 8200 mAh
Voltage: 52.8 V
Energy: 93 Wh
Charging time: 120 min |
| Run Time |
3 hrs (Max brightness)
4.5 hrs (Half brightness) |
| Storage Capacity |
ROM 16 GB + scalable (TF) |
| Video Output Port |
HDMI Port |
| Power Supply Current / Voltage (USB-A port) |
5V / 500m A |
| Operating Temperature Range |
-4° to 104° F (-20° to 40° C) |
| Storage Temperature Range |
< 1 month: -4° to 140° F (-20° to 60° C)
1-3 months: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
3-12 months: -4° to 86° F (-20° to 30° C) |
| Charging Temperature Range |
32° to 113° F (-0° to 45° C) |
| GNSS |
GPS+GLONASS+Galileo |
| Dimensions |
319*233*74 mm (antennas folded)
319*398*74 mm (antennas unfolded) |
| Weight |
1987g |
| Satellite receiving frequency |
Simultaneous receive:
GPS: L1, L2, L5
BeiDou: B1, B2, B3
GLONASS: F1, F2
Galileo: E1, E5A, E5B |
| Positioning accuracy |
Single Point
Horizontal: 1.5 m (RMS)
Vertical: 3.0 m (RMS)
RTK
Horizontal: 1 cm+1 ppm (RMS)
Vertical: 1.5 cm+ 1 ppm (RMS)
1 ppm: For every 1 km increase in distance, the accuracy will be 1 mm less. For example, the horizontal accuracy is 1.1 cm when the receiving end is 1 km away from the base station. |
| Positioning update rate |
1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, 10 Hz and 20 Hz |
| Cold start |
< 40s |
| Hot start |
< 10s |
| Recapture |
< 1s |
| Initialization reliability |
> 99.9% |
| Differential data transmission format |
RTCM 2.X/3.X |
| Data link |
Image transmission, Wi-Fi |
| Operating frequency |
902-928 MHz; 2.400-2.4835 GHz; |
| EIRP (Equivalent radiated power) |
902-928 MHz
FCC:< 30 dBm
2.400-2.4835 GHz
FCC:< 30 dBm
SRRC/CE/MIC:< 20 dBm |
| Operating frequency |
2.400-2.4835 GHz;
5.125-5.25GHz;
5.650-5.755GHz;
5.725-5.850GHz |
| EIRP (Equivalent radiated power) |
2.400-2.4835 GHz
FCC:< 26 dBm
SRRC/CE/MIC:< 20 dBm
5.125-5.25 GHz
FCC/SRRC:<26 dBm
5.650-5.755 GHz
MIC:< 20 dBm
5.725-5.850 GHz
SRRC/FCC:< 26 dBm
CE:< 14 dBm
SRRC/CE/MIC:< 20 dBm |
| Communication distance |
Mobile station and aircraft: 30 km (FCC)
Mobile station and remote control: 200 m (FCC)
(Unobstructed and free of interference, when the mobile station is used as a base station and the distance from the mobile station antenna to the bottom of the tripod is 2 m; and when the difference in height between the remote controller and mobile station is less than 10 m, and when the remote controller is 1.2 m from ground level) |
| Power consumption |
7.5 W |
| Power supply |
5 to 20V DC (supports USB PD charging protocol) |
| Battery |
Type: lithium ion polymer battery
Capacity: 4950 mAh
Energy: 57.1 WH |
| Run time |
> 7.5 h |
| Size(Base station body + extension rod) |
193 mm×177 mm×73 mm |
| Weight |
1275 g |
| Dustproof and waterproof |
IP64 |
| Operating temperature |
-20°C to 50°C |
| Effective Pixels |
8MP |
| Zoom |
20x zoom, 12x digital zoom, 240x total magification |
| Aperture |
F2.0 (wide) to 3.8 (tele) |
| Photo Resolution |
3840x2160 |
| Photo |
JPEG |
| Video Resolution |
3840x2160
1920x1080 |
| Video |
MP4 |
| Effective Pixels |
12MP |
| Zoom |
1-8x digital zoom |
| Photo Resolution |
4000x3000 |
| Photo |
JPEG |
| Video Resolution |
3840x2160
1920x1080 |
| Video |
MP4 |
| Effective Pixels |
8MP |
| Zoom |
20x zoom, 12x digital zoom, 240x total magification |
| Aperture |
F2.0 (wide) to 3.8 (tele) |
| Photo Resolution |
3840x2160 |
| Photo |
JPEG |
| Video Resolution |
3840x2160
1920x1080 |
| Video |
MP4 |
| Effective Pixels |
12MP |
| Zoom |
1-8x digital zoom |
| Photo Resolution |
4000x3000 |
| Photo |
JPEG |
| Video Resolution |
3840x2160
1920x1080 |
| Video |
MP4 |
| Infrared camera sensor |
Uncooled VOx Microbolometer |
| Sensor Resolution |
640*512 |
| Zoom |
1-8x digital zoom |
| Pixel Pitch |
12μm |
| Spectral Band |
8-14μm |
| Lens |
25mm F1.0 |
| FOV |
17°×14° |
| Photo Resolution |
640*512 |
| Photo |
JPEG |
| Video Resolution |
640*512 |
| Frame Rate |
30Hz |
| Video |
MP4 |
| Accuracy |
±3℃ or ±3% of reading (whichever is greater) @ambient temperature -20℃~60℃ |
| Scene Range |
High Gain: -20° to +150°C
Low Gain: 0° to +550°C |
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Page updated by
Will D.
on April 16, 2024
Will – DFH tech team
