First DJI drone parachute cuts rotors off in 600 ms to save people and equipment
DJI has entered the industrial drone safety hardware market with the AP100, its first standalone parachute system, built specifically for the Matrice 400 platform. The unit is now on sale through authorized resellers, though it's currently limited to DJI distributors rather than direct retail sales.
At less than a kilo, the AP100 parachute system is a rather compact add-on that still allows full payload, and DJI has packed it with redundancy features, too. Its housing carries an IP55 water resistance rating, and it can operate across a wide temperature range.
DJI AP100 drone parachute price and specs
DJI claims the system can halt the rotors and fully deploy the parachute in just 600 milliseconds, slowing the drone's descent to under 5 meters per second before touchdown and beating third-party solutions. That kind of response time matters for a heavy commercial platform like the Matrice 400, as its freefall would pose real risk to people and property below.
As for redundancy, the DJI AP100 parachute system runs its own flight controller and IMU, independent of the drone's primary systems, and includes dual capacitors that keep it operational for about an hour even if the aircraft loses power entirely. Once triggered, an independent flight termination link cuts motor power to prevent the parachute lines from tangling with the propellers. The parachute system then emits an audible and visual alarm for about an hour to help ground crews locate the drone.
Being lightweight, the new DJI drone parachute only detracts about six minutes of flight time even if the Matrice 400 takes off with its full payload capacity, which is a pretty important metric for a commercial drone. DJI says the AP100 paired with the Matrice 400 meets EASA C5/C6 and UK CAA UK5/UK6 requirements, opening the door to operations over populated areas and beyond the line of sight in Europe’s tightly regulated airspace, too.
Given that a Matrice 400 platform runs north of ten grand, while DJI has priced the AP100 at the equivalent of $1,050, the parachute is a good investment against emergencies that could otherwise result in a crash landing that would be rather costly.
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