Hera drone can lift 33 pounds, fly for an hour and fit in a backpack

While we have heard about heavy-lift drones before, they’re typically big things that have to be transported in a vehicle. The Hera, however, can lift 33 lb (15 kg) yet also be carried by one person in a backpack.

Manufactured by California-based Realtime Robotics, the Hera quadcopter features a largely carbon fiber airframe, the propeller arms of which fold down for transit and storage. In that folded state, it measures 22 x 13.7 x 9 inches (55 x 34 x 22 cm), making it back-packable.

It tips the scales at 33 lb – the same as its maximum payload. According to the company, such a lifting capacity is at least 2.5 times higher than that of other similar-sized folding drones.

The cargo can take the form of four separate gimbal-mounted cameras or other sensors – for instance, the drone can be equipped with visual, thermal and corona cameras along with a LiDAR unit, all at the same time. Additionally, because the Hera features retractable landing gear, the cameras can pan 360 degrees…