DJI Introduces First Civilian Cargo Drone for Goods Transport

DJI’s cargo drone has arrived.

Recently, DJI released its first consumer cargo drone, the DJI FlyCart 30 (hereinafter referred to as FC30). According to the introduction, it has a maximum payload of 30 kilograms and a maximum range of 16 kilometers when fully loaded in dual battery mode. The standard package is priced at 17091 US dollars.

According to the introduction, FC30 adopts a 4-axis 8-propeller multi-rotor configuration and 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, with a maximum volume of 70 liters for the standard universal-size EPP cargo box. 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. Currently, FC30 has been tested in a mountainous scenic area in the eastern region 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.

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DJI cargo drones are available to meet the transportation needs of both ordinary small and medium-sized users as well as large-scale users. Currently, the FC30 has been used in a mountainous photovoltaic project in the southwestern region, transporting materials such as solar panels and module boards.

Low-altitude logistics has always been a hot topic. Prior to DJI, Meituan had already developed drones specifically for urban food delivery scenarios. Currently, they have implemented 15 drone routes in cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai, with a total of over 167,000 completed orders. SF Express has also piloted drone delivery services, but before widespread promotion can occur, clear low-altitude airspace policies are still needed.

Indeed, the existing regulations and policies are still unable to support the frequent and intensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban airspace. This is also why DJI currently focuses on selecting scenarios such as mountainous areas, end-to-end transportation, and emergency transportation. DJI believes that there is great potential in the low-altitude transportation market, but it is still in the early stages of development.

“The cargo drone will become one of the most important foundational tools in the development of the low-altitude economy. With the launch of FC30, DJI will participate in the development of the transportation industry as an aerial cargo solution provider, offering intelligent transport solutions to customers with cargo needs,” said the spokesperson mentioned above.