Audacious Autel just supersized their drone range

At last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - CES 2023, the planet’s biggest showcase of new technology - Autel Robotics made a bold statement about their ambitions for the coming year in the dynamic drone market, particularly in the pro and industrial market. 

The Shenzhen-based tech specialists already produce some of the very best drones on the market for commercial, industrial and personal use, including the Autel Evo Nano and the Autel Evo Lite+, but at CES 2023 they expanded their range considerably, in every sense, and showed they are right on DJI's heels.

Not only did Autel launch their new enterprise drone for pro pilots, the EVO Max 4T, but they also unveiled an innovative new mesh networking system, which allows fliers to control multiple drones from one handheld device, plus a drone-in-a box system and a long-distance antenna. The Autel fleet isn’t just bigger and more technically capable, it can now fly further and for longer than ever before.

The EVO Max 4T 

Autel’s new enterprise drone, the EVO Max 4T is armed with three high-quality cameras: a 48MP telephoto camera with 10x Optical Zoom, 160x digital zoom, and a 1/2" CMOS sensor; a 50MP wide-angle camera with a 1/1.28" CMOS sensor and 3840x2160 video resolution; and an infrared camera with a 640x512 resolution and 1.2km ranging distance. 

The EVO Max 4T also boasts a laser rangefinder, binocular vision system, millimeter-wave radar for obstacle avoidance, and a range of other navigational and data acquisition functions, including 3D flight routes, PinPoint Mode, Team Work, Polygon Mission, Waypoint Mission, and Oblique Photography.

Autel say potential applications include search and rescue missions, firefighting support, cartography and mapping, and inspection roles.

Excitingly, the EVO Max 4T works with Autel’s new mesh networking system, A-Mesh 1.0, so multiple drones can be controlled by one pilot using a small tablet. And the range of the system has been extended too, because aircraft can use one another as signal relays.

Dragonfish Nest and the EVO Nest

Autel also used CES 2023 to reveal their new nest systems. The Dragonfish Nest is the world's first automated eVTOL support system. It brings together high-performing Dragonfish aircraft with autonomous takeoff, landing, charging, and flight mission capability. With a range of up to 75 miles and is being touted for use where long corridors of terrain need monitoring or aerial surveillance and mo use 

The EVO Nest is a portable base for EVO series drones, facilitating automatic take-off, landing, charging, and mission planning. It’s rugged enough for all-weather deployment and can be transported in a standard pickup truck.

Both the EVO Nest and Dragonfish Nest are powered by Autel’s SkyCommand Center software, and the company is also releasing a range of accessories, including the Dragonfish Repeater and Autel Smart Antenna Transmission (ASAT) System.