DJI unveils EV50 drone after setting Everest altitude record
(ECNS) -- Chinese drone maker DJI last Thursday unveiled its EV50 VTOL drone after it reached a record altitude of 8,861 meters, the highest ever achieved by an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) drone, during a scientific expedition on Mount Everest.
The EV50 supported the "Peak Mission" Everest expedition, assisting research teams from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collecting atmospheric data on the mountain's northern slope.
The all-electric aircraft combines the advantages of vertical takeoff and landing with fixed-wing flight. Its eight vertical rotors allow it to take off from confined spaces without a runway, while switching to fixed-wing flight minimizes airflow disturbance during atmospheric sampling.
The drone can fly at 40 to 55 meters per second and withstand glacier winds of around 20 meters per second, enabling it to carry out layered atmospheric sampling and pollutant-tracking missions.
Its all-electric propulsion system produces no exhaust emissions, while a nose-mounted air intake captures undisturbed air, improving the accuracy of atmospheric data gathered during the expedition.
(By Gong Weiwei)