Watch the world’s first skydive from a drone
Once we created a person-hauling UAV, it was only a matter of time.
Unlike typical consumer-aimed quadcopter drones, Latvian company Aerones specializes in big UAVs that can carry hefty loads. Last year, they showed off one of their big lifter's prowess by towing YouTuber Kaspars Balamovskis on a snowboarding run. Today, they released another stunt video spotlighting one of their heavy lifters hauling a man a thousand feet in the air -- before he let go to skydive back down to earth.
Aerones' 28-rotor drone picked up skydiver Ingus Augustkalns from a tower before climbing to 330 meters, at which point he lets go to parachute to the ground. The not-so-typical video is one of several on Aerones' site that flex its drones' capabilities to pull off extreme stunts. But others show off the more benevolent applications of their 100 kg (220-pound) lifting capacity, like using them for human rescue operations or firefighting. And you thought drones were only good for half-time shows and delivering Domino's.
