Drone Rescue Systems meets ASTM standards

In June 2019, Drone Rescue Systems GmbH tested the DRS-M600 parachute rescue system according to the ASTM F3322-18 standard. The DRS-M600 system has been developed for the DJI M600 and the DJI M600pro by Drone Rescue and is distributed worldwide by the Austrian company. With the successful completion of the ASTM standard, approvals, such as for operations over crowds, are now possible from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Drone Rescue Systems' autonomous parachute rescue system, DRS-M600, weighs only about 430g and operates without pyrotechnics. This allows the system to be reused immediately by simply attaching and detaching it via a bayonet mechanism. The flight tests were conducted at the UAS test site in Rome, New York, USA, in cooperation with Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR). The parachute system was being certified for a project in the USA, where the transportation and delivery of food to approximately 1500 households in North Carolina, USA, are to be secured and enabled. Drones from the DJI M600 series are used for this purpose.

The ASTM F3322-18 standard is the first standard for parachute systems specifically designed for small UAVs. Compliance with this standard is necessary for the FAA to allow Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations and flights over crowds. The standard defines not only structural requirements, documentation, and dimensions, but also 45 test flight scenarios that must be successfully completed with the parachute. These scenarios include combinations of activations in hover and full forward flight, at minimum and maximum takeoff weight, automatic and manual activation, as well as a shock load test. In this test, the drone is brought into free fall for 3 seconds before the parachute is deployed. All test flights must be documented with videos.

"We are the first European company, and the third worldwide, to meet this standard. This has allowed our system to be approved for UAVs up to 15.5kg, such as the DJI M600. Previous tests were only conducted with UAS up to 4.2kg, so we are the first to offer a certified parachute rescue system for the higher weight class. Meeting the standard for our weight class is much more difficult and we are incredibly proud of that. Our DRS-M600 worked flawlessly in all tests. All automatic crash scenarios, such as turning off two motors in flight, were reliably and quickly detected by the system. There were no misfires," said Markus Manninger, CTO of Drone Rescue Systems GmbH.

"Due to the successful certification, the DRS-M600 can now be used not only for package delivery but also in other applications. BVLOS operations in particular can now be conducted with the parachute system, as the FAA now allows it. This could play an important role in surveying missions," added Andreas Ploier, CEO of Drone Rescue Systems GmbH.

The ASTM standard tests were conducted in cooperation with the company Flytrex, which is one of the pioneers in drone package deliveries. Furthermore, an important partnership was also established between Drone Rescue and Lidar USA during the summer. Lidar USA specializes in laser scanning, photogrammetry, and geomatics, and offers the DRS-M600 to all DJI M600 users. "Tests were also conducted with Lidar USA. The successful completion of the ASTM standard is therefore another step for our customers to obtain approvals from the FAA for future operations," said Manninger. He is already thinking about other application areas: "Additional BVLOS applications, such as inspecting power lines, pipelines, or cable cars, as well as increasingly desired operations over crowds, such as for television recordings in sports stadiums, concerts, marathons, or demonstrations, are certainly conceivable," Manninger looks to the future.

Drone Rescue Systems on the Internet: www.dronerescue.com