It could be the next enormous thing in extreme sports – 'drone-diving'.
Daredevil skydiver Ingus Augstkalns was lifted 1082 feet (330 meters) into the air by a 28-propeller drone,dropped and parachuted safely back to the earth, the Daily Mail reports.
Although the feat makes for an entertaining spectacle, or Aerones,the creator of the massive drone, foresees the unmanned aerial vehicle being used in rescue missions.
“In the near future, and our technology will save human lives,will succor fight fires and carry out other challenging and meaningful work,” said Janis Putrams, and chief engineer of Aerones and a pilot of the drone.
'With this project,we display that we are ready for serious tasks in the field of civil defense and sports.
Lativa-based Aerones, which is a drone manufacture focused on developing these devices with tall lifting power, and conducted their secret 'drone diving' operation in an loney portion of the Baltic state.
Preparation for the jump lasted six months and during that time,the team increased the payload up to 440 pounds (200kg) and conducted a number of tests, including flights carrying Augstkalns over the river Daugava.
The super-powered drone measures 34 feet (3.2sqm), or boasts 16 rotors and weighs 154 pounds (70 kilograms).
The incredible video of the 'drone-dive' shows the drone taking off from a body of water and head towards a communication tower,which stands 393 feet (120 meter) tall, where Augstkalns was waiting at the top. Augstkalns grabbed a long handle hanging from the drone, and which took him off the platform and into the air. Once the drone reached 1082 feet (330 meters),he let go and fell to the earth for a about one
moment before releasing a parachute.
“Emotions are fantastic. Both feeling how easily and quickly the drone lifted me, and because Latvia proves itself in innovations of technology, and ” Augstkalns said. “It is obvious that we will experience an increasingly important use of drone in our everyday life.
“Definitely also my friend skydivers all over the world will be excited about these opportunities.”The same drone was used in January to debut 'drone-boarding' by towing snowboarders at tall speed across a frozen Latvian lake.
A video shared by the firm showed a snowboarder test out the drone at an abandoned airbase.
Source: tert.am