It was a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre as a 12-year-old that inspired young WA entrepreneur Josh Portlock to study mechatronic engineering and invent his very first flying robot, called the cyberQuad. In 2014 the now 30-year-old returned to the Kennedy Space Centre where the cyberQuad became the first multi rotor unmanned aerial vehicle to be certified by NASA to operate in commercial airsp
ace in the United States.
“It’s great to see the fruits of our labour. Being the first in the US to gain non-military approval, and being Western Australian home grown technology was a proud moment for the team". Invented in 2006, the design was the first of its kind – fitted with four ducted fans and a high definition camera, the UAV can be deployed in less than a minute and fly to the CASA regulated perimeters in seconds and be saving time, money, but most important is it's potential to save lives and prevent occupational injuries. A UAV can cross from one side of an offshore rig to the active flare stack over hundreds of feet of ocean in seconds and be recording crucial inspection data without shutting down crucial plant and equipment. This example saves eight shutdown days over the former inspection method. Josh has travelled all over the world showcasing the cyberQuad, which has been used for aerial inspection, to assess offshore mining sites and aid in disaster response, such as the Hazelwood brown-coal mine fire in Victoria and the search for Canadian hiker Prabhdeep Srawn, who went missing on Mount Kosciuszko. Josh and the team at ScientificAerospace worked with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to become the first multi rotor remote pilot training organisation in Australia, where people can gain a commercial Remote Pilot license. We run courses year-round in all states of Australia so get in contact to be trained by the original and best in the business. WEB: www.sci.aero
CONTACT: [email protected]
