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Yuneec’s latest UAV is the all-purpose camera drone you’ve been waiting for

Luke Dormehl
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Yuneec drone
Looking for a robust six-rotor commercial drone with camera options for carrying out everything from night-vision search-and-rescue missions to mapping to recording cinema-quality video? Of course you are — and electric aviation company Yuneec International is here to help.

Announced at the start of this year, Yuneec’s high end H520 drone is now available to order. Described by its makers as the perfect all-in-one drone package, the H520’s most impressive feature is its range of cameras, which can be swapped out depending on what you need to do with it.

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Its E90 camera is a wide-angle HD gimbal stabilized shooter, with a 20MP sensor and an H2 high speed processing chip. That’s perfectly suited for law enforcement, search and rescue, 3D mapping, or broadcast. Then there’s an E50 camera, offering a medium focal length, stabilized snapper with a high aperture 1/2.3-inch CMOS imager that’s capable of stunning 12MP stills. Finally, there’s a CGOET camera that comes with thermal imaging, simultaneously records two separate video files for each lens, and boasts low-light recording capabilities that are 20 times superior to the human eye in the same setting.

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The drone comes packed with a pro-grade, Android-based ST16 controller, which sports a 7-inch integrated display and HD 720p video downlink for real-time video reception. If that’s not good enough, you can also utilize an HDMI uplink to watch the footage on external monitors.

“Our team of engineers and product managers have conducted extensive field testing to refine the H520 software and create a best-in-class commercial-grade UAV,” said Dr. Michael Jiang, CEO of Yuneec International. “We’re confident operators will discover the H520 is a versatile tool for a variety of enterprise applications thanks to its suite of dependable, reliable and advanced features including DataPilot™, Yuneec’s integrated mission planning software.”

There’s also plenty of third party accessory compatibility, a software development kit allowing developers to tap into Yuneec hardware and software to create applications for the H520, and an extended service program.

In terms of pricing, expect to pay between $1,999 and $4,699. Given the quality of the company’s previous offerings, we can’t wait to put one through its paces!

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Luke Dormehl
Luke Dormehl
Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
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