August 16, 2023,DJI officially released the first civil-carrying UAV DJI FlyCart 30 (FC30), which integrates large load, long range, strong signal and high intelligence. It is suitable for mountain, shore base, rural transportation scenarios and various emergency sites. The standard package is priced at 17000 US dollars.
According to the introduction, FC30 has a maximum payload of 30 kilograms and a maximum range of 16 kilometers when fully loaded in dual battery mode. FC30 can adapt to operating environment temperatures ranging from -20°C to 45°C. It has a maximum flight altitude of 6000 meters.
In addition, FC30 has two load modes: cargo box and sling. The cargo box supports quick disassembly and automatic weighing. The sling mode supports functions such as intelligent anti-swinging and emergency fuse.
In terms of safety, before takeoff, the FC30 system can conduct accessibility assessments based on mission requirements, equipment, and flight environment conditions. It recommends suitable flight routes and ensures pre-flight safety through functions such as unmanned aerial vehicle audio-visual prompts and delayed propeller start-up. During the flight, the FC30 can achieve intelligent obstacle avoidance in multiple directions, in all weather conditions, and at all times. It can also provide timely warnings about surrounding manned aircraft information. The FC30 is also equipped with a built-in parachute for low-altitude parachute deployment and stable landing.
The relevant person in charge of DJI stated that it took nearly 3 years from planning to market this product, undergoing more than 100,000 test flights. With the increasingly wide application of drones in various industries, using drones for transportation and cargo delivery has become technically feasible, which is also the reason why DJI entered this industry.
In the official introduction, FC30 is suitable for transporting goods in mountainous, coastal, and rural transportation scenarios and various emergency scenarios.
Scenic areas are one of the typical scenarios. The FC30 has been tested in a mountainous scenic area in the eastern region of China to transport daily necessities, construction materials, production waste, and other supplies between the mountains and the foot of the mountains.
The above-mentioned person in charge introduced that due to the limitations of the terrain, this scenic area used to rely mainly on manual transportation for carrying. It took about 5 hours for a round trip to transport goods weighing 30-40 kilograms using pure manpower. At most, 60-80 kilograms of goods could be transported in a day. Taking cement transportation as an example, a bag of 50kg of cement has a purchase price of around $2.7 USD, but the freight cost to carry it to the mountaintop is approximately $54.7 USD.
FC30 is located 2.6 kilometers away from the transportation point in a straight line. It takes approximately 13 minutes for a round trip to transport a batch of goods weighing 30 kilograms from the bottom of the mountain to the top. The daily workload can exceed 1000 kg. According to DJI, it is difficult to calculate the cost of drone transportation in different operational scenarios, but it is clearly lower than manual labor costs.
Currently, the FC30 has been used in a mountainous photovoltaic project in the southwestern region of China, transporting materials such as solar panels and module boards.
https://www.dji.com/cn/flycart-30