ModalAI, a California-based drone and robotics company that spun out of Qualcomm in 2018, has launched a research and development drone that has been specifically designed to accelerate indoor autonomous navigation missions. The 550 g Seeker drone is built on the Blue sUAS framework and is powered by the VOXL CAM perception engine, another new ModalAI product.
According to a company press release, the drone can fly for up to 27 minutes. It can also operate on a 4G cellular network, depending on the configuration. The price of the ModelAI Seeker drone starts at $2,999.
The base weight of the micro-development drone is just 57.5 grams. With the flight controller and modem installed, the drone weighs 87 grams. ModelAI stresses that Seeker’s carbon airframe, credit card-sized VOXL CAM, and tilted rotors make it perfect to navigate through tunnels, scaffolding, bridges, and other tight spaces.
As Chad Sweet, CEO of ModalAI, explains:
The Seeker drone is the…
