German Drone Maker Ventures Into Long-Range Infrastructure Inspection

Wingcopter, the German drone manufacturer known for its cutting-edge cargo delivery drones, is taking a significant step into the geospatial industry. At GEO WEEK, a leading trade show for geospatial technology, the company announced its expansion into long-range beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) LiDAR surveying. With this move, Wingcopter aims to revolutionize the way critical infrastructure such as power lines, pipelines, railways, and remote terrain is mapped and inspected.

The expansion builds on Wingcopter’s years of experience in developing eVTOL drones capable of long-range, high-payload operations. The company’s flagship drone, the Wingcopter 198, will now be equipped with advanced LiDAR and camera systems, allowing for precise and efficient data collection over vast areas. With a single flight, the drone can survey up to 37 miles while carrying a 10-pound sensor payload, covering as much as 2,560 acres in just 42 minutes.

The announcement comes as Wingcopter continues to advance its FAA type certification process in the United States, a critical step in proving the drones’ reliability. At the trade show, Ansgar Kadura, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Wingcopter, spoke about the company’s evolving vision and how surveying aligns with its broader mission.

“For years, we have been focused on developing reliable drones for cargo delivery, particularly in medical logistics,” Kadura said. “But with the maturity of our technology and the reliability we have achieved, we felt the time was right to expand into new applications. The long-range capability, high payload capacity, and reliability of our system make it ideally suited for LiDAR-based infrastructure inspection.”