Tag Archive for: E400

Event 38 Unmanned Systems Introduces 360 Degree Camera Integration on Latest E400 ISR Drone

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(Richfield, Ohio) – April 3rd, 2024 – Event 38 Unmanned Systems, a leading manufacturer of American-made VTOL fixed-wing drones, is pleased to announce the integration of a 360-degree camera option on its flagship E400 fixed-wing VTOL ISR drone.

Partnering with NextVision, a renowned provider of stabilized cameras and accessories for commercial and industrial applications, Event 38 now offers a range of EO/IR Gimbal camera options for seamless integration with the E400 drone platform.

NextVision’s gimballed EO/IR cameras boast field-proven technology, capturing high-quality visual and thermal imagery and video. These cameras enable live streaming directly to ground stations, providing operators with continuous monitoring capabilities.

The incorporation of a 360-degree EO/IR camera onto the E400 ISR platform enhances its effectiveness in various scenarios, including search-and-rescue missions, suspect pursuit, emergency management, and disaster response, such as swift water rescue operations. Now, customers have the ability to keep the target in sight at all times in flight. The E400 ISR, built with a military-grade carbon fiber frame, offers exceptional durability for rugged field applications. Moreover, its extended endurance allows for extended flight durations without the need for frequent recharging, enabling extensive coverage in a single flight.

This latest integration is particularly suited for surveillance and security applications, leveraging the E400 ISR’s electric propulsion and minimal noise emissions for discreet flight operations.

“The ability to rotate the camera indefinitely means an operator will never find themself limited in choosing what angle from which to observe a target,” said Jeff Taylor, Founder and CEO of Event 38. “In rapidly evolving situations it is critical to keep the target in sight at all times, and this 360 rotation capability allows just that on the E400-ISR.”

Event 38 will be showcasing the E400 ISR at various Public Safety conferences and upcoming events in the near future.

For more information about Event 38 and its range of mapping drone solutions, please visit www.event38.com.

Event 38 Partners with PLACE to Map Turks and Caicos Islands

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Event 38 Unmanned Systems, a leading manufacturer of American-made mapping drones, announces the successful deployment of the E400, its fixed-wing mapping drone, to collect aerial imagery and mapping data in Turks and Caicos. The drone captured enough data to produce orthomosaics of two entire islands totaling 238 square kilometers in a matter of days. Turks and Caicos’ previous mapping data was at least ten years old.

The project was conducted by PLACE, a global non-profit technology organization dedicated to solving the inefficiencies of modern-day mapping and democratizing mapping data by providing hyperlocal, accurate, detailed optical imagery. The organization had been actively searching for a better aerial imaging solution when they were connected with Event 38.

“It can be difficult and expensive to get an airplane into the geographies where we work,” said Peter Rabley, founder of PLACE. “Satellite imagery is quite complicated to order and process the data, and many of these geographies have intense cloud cover, which can disturb the imagery.”

The logistics of data capture weren’t the only challenge. “Some countries dislike the fact that they have to pay an external satellite company for one-time use of their mapping data and can’t create derived works without paying more for a new license,” said Rabley.

“PLACE was looking for a fixed-wing, VTOL drone with a long flight time that could map large areas and capture high-resolution imagery,” said Jeff Taylor, founder and CEO, Event 38. “The E400 fulfilled all of their requirements, including an industry-leading flight time of ninety minutes, plus vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. We were also intentional about making the E400 as user-friendly as possible, including a hot-swap payload, a low maintenance electric powertrain, and open-source integrations, so we could remove any barriers to entry that might prevent someone from using it for important surveying and data collection projects.”

“The E400 is a complete game changer in terms of democratizing mapping for African countries and small island states,” said Rabley. “It’s very manageable in terms of operations and maintenance and has a lower threshold for human resource capabilities.”

PLACE’s first mapping project with the E400 took place in Turks and Caicos, an archipelagic island nation in the Caribbean. Turks and Caicos’ previous mapping data was at least ten years old, and existing satellite data wasn’t detailed enough for local applications such as hurricane preparedness and mitigation. The Event 38 team joined PLACE to provide training on using and maintaining the drone, which the team used to map two entire islands.

The team produced highly accurate orthomosaics just two days after they finished capturing aerial imagery. The E400 gave the Turks and Caicos government the accuracy and resolution of data they needed to greenlight multiple critical projects, including a major upgrade to their property tax system and improved climate mitigation modeling and planning. The data is already being used for the upcoming Census and other key activities.

The success in Turks and Caicos is, hopefully, the first of many for PLACE using the E400. Access to updated mapping data is critical for geographies with fast-growing populations and cities particularly those at risk from climate change. This data allows governments to plan and invest in the development of public services and structures, such as climate mitigation, upgraded sewer systems, improved mobility, health services, and more.

“At PLACE, our goal is to democratize and localize data collection, and the E400 makes that much more affordable,” said Rabley. “The data is immediate and owned by the government, so there are no licensing or use restrictions.”

Event 38 is working on additional modifications to the E400 to support PLACE and other future customers. “Based on what we learned during our time in Turks and Caicos with PLACE, we’re making a lot of exciting modifications to both the E400 and the workflow to make the entire platform better suited to remote locations, where there may be limited cell service, repair facilities, and accessible weather data,” said Taylor. “We’ve already invested in a lighter carrying case and an ADS-B transponder and improved the image geotagging workflow for large missions, and further upgrades are in the works.”

PLACE has already purchased two additional E400s.

“Event 38 is incredibly proud to be supporting PLACE’s important work and mission,” said Taylor. “We look forward to seeing what our other clients do with the E400.”

For more information about Event 38 and the E400, including the ISR model, please visit www.event38.com.

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About Event 38 Unmanned Systems:

Event 38 designs and manufactures fixed-wing VTOL drones in Richfield, Ohio. Since 2011, we’ve sold over 500 drones to people and organizations all around the globe. Our drones capture geo-tagged data for a range of industries and applications. Event 38 drones can be customized for high-resolution aerial photogrammetry, thermal and multispectral imagery, LiDAR, and live video streaming.

Event 38 Announces New EO/IR Payload for E400 VTOL Drone

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Event 38 Unmanned Systems, a leading manufacturer of American-made mapping drones, announces that the E400, Event 38’s latest fixed-wing mapping drone, is now available with a gimballed EO/IR camera from NextVision.

NextVision makes field-proven, stabilized cameras and accessories for a variety of commercial and industrial applications. Their gimballed EO/IR cameras capture high-quality visual and thermal imagery and video that can be streamed directly to a ground station.

Combining an EO/IR camera with the E400 platform creates a powerful tool for search-and-rescue, emergency management, and disaster response scenarios, including swift water rescue. The E400 is a military-grade drone with a carbon fiber frame, rather than foam, and is durable enough for rugged field applications. Additionally, the E400 has very long endurance and doesn’t require frequent intermissions for charging. As a result, the E400 can cover much more acreage in a single flight than a multirotor drone, which is vital when time is of the essence.

This new integration is also ideal for surveillance and security applications. The E400 is fully electric and very quiet, so it can fly much lower than other drones without detection.

“At Event 38, we’re always looking for ways to make drone technology accessible to industries and sectors that can really benefit from it, which is why we’re so thrilled to be integrating NextVision cameras with the E400,” said Jeff Taylor, founder & CEO of Event 38. “The E400 is extremely user-friendly; you don’t need a background in aeronautics to use it. This means that any public safety team—whether that’s the police, the sheriff, border control, search and rescue, emergency management, or disaster response—can add aerial surveillance to their capabilities without having to hire an additional operator.”

Event 38 recently demoed the E400 with an EO/IR camera at an Indiana Public Safety Drone Training event, with great success.

3D-Printed Antenna Demonstrated on E400 Drone

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Earlier this year, Event 38 Unmanned Systems successfully flew a drone fitted with a 3D-printed antenna at Kent State University. The project, backed by the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN), was a collaboration between Event 38, Kent State University, Youngstown State University, and Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), who led the project.

Event 38 consulted with YBI to explore the possibility of creating a 3D-printed antenna to replace the nose cone on the E400, an Event 38 mapping drone.

“3D printing is an exciting option for creating geometrically complex components, such as antennas,” said Jeff Taylor, CEO of Event 38. “Traditional manufacturing methods, such as machining, aren’t optimal for unusual shapes, which can require a lot of tooling and produce significant waste material. 3D printing is much more efficient for certain geometries.”

YBI experimented with different 3D-printed antenna designs to find one that matched the dimensional needs of the E400 and achieved the right frequency and distribution pattern.

The 3D-printed antenna created by YBI was fully integrated on the E400 and flown at an OFRN project demonstration at Kent State University.

“Geometrically complex 3D-printed antennas are very promising technology,” said Taylor. “In partnership with YBI, we proved the feasibility of a dual-purpose nose cone that served as both antenna and aerodynamic structure. But there’s potential to create structural parts, too. We could print a loadbearing piece that also serves as an antenna and thus replace a structural element, which reduces the overall weight of the aircraft.”

There are several applications in which full integration of the antenna into the existing shape of the aircraft is beneficial. In virtually any context, an integrated antenna is safer from bumps and damage than a whip antenna that protrudes from the plane. In the context of a hypersonic aircraft, a protruding antenna requires extra heat shielding, whereas an antenna that integrates with the shape of the fuselage could withstand both heat and hypersonic airflow without compromising performance.

Light weighting can also contribute meaningfully to overall performance of an unmanned aircraft. A lighter drone can fly longer and handle a heavier payload on the same amount of power.

Taylor is optimistic about the future of 3D-printed antenna and other sensors. “There may be long-term benefits we haven’t even realized yet. It could change the way we design and build drones in the future.”

To learn more about Event 38 or the E400, visit www.event38.com.