Parrot ANAFI USA

The Parrot ANAFI USA drone may have been built for the US Army, but its high-end security, durability, and camera specs make it an excellent option for enterprise applications.  ANAFI USA comes with a dual-optics visual camera as well as a thermal camera capable of performing a variety of missions.  Its data encryption and privacy features make it compliant with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), so you never have to worry about your data being compromised.  If you’re looking for a drone that’s as powerful as it is secure, check out ANAFI USA.

Design

ANAFI USA is designed to be compact, foldable, and light.  Its size when folded is 252 x 104 x 84 mm, making it a cinch to transport and deploy in a variety of environments.  The drone is also lightweight, with a total weight of only 500 grams, further enhancing its portability.  Parrot ANAFI USA is the most compact drone of its category on both the enterprise and military segments, making it the top choice for missions in far-off or hard-to-reach places.  The blades of the drone’s propellers are modeled after the knobs of the anterior edge of the pectoral fins of humpback whales, taking inspiration from the natural designs of wildlife.

While the drone may be designed to be small and compact, it’s also incredibly resistant to many forms of inclement weather.  The mechanical structure of the Parrot drone is made mainly of polyamid, reinforced with carbon fiber, and streamlined using hollow glass beads.  In addition to being IP53 certified, the drone has a maximum wind resistance of up to 14.7 m/s.  The lateral vent-equipped covers allow for the dispelling of heat while keeping the drone safe from dust, sand, and rain.  A collar shelters the vertical camera and ultrasonar sensor from the rain.  There are also no take-off temperature limitations, ensuring that nothing gets in the way of your mission.

Easy To Use

Parrot Anafi USA is designed with ease of use as its top priority.  It can launch right out of the palm of your hand, allowing you to take off from pretty much anywhere.  It is also hand recoverable, which gives you greater flexibility throughout your mission.  There is zero no flight zone (NFZ) limitation, so you can fly the drone wherever you want without running into any issues. 

The drone unfolds in only three seconds, and you can go from case to flight in only 55 seconds.  This cuts down on valuable minutes you might need when searching for missing persons or detecting hotspots during a fire.  With a propeller blades system, you’ll have less clutter and easier replacement.  Just screw the propellers in the direction opposite to that of the rotation of motors to replace–no tools required.

Remote Controllers

Flight Perfromance

The ANAFI USA drone is designed to make each flight as long as possible without compromising on the stability of the transmission. The drone has a maximum flight time of 32 minutes, giving you plenty of time to complete your mission without having to recharge. The service ceiling is 5,000 m above MSL (Mean Sea Level), so you don’t have to worry about flying too high and losing signal.  

Depending on the controller, the ANAFI USA uses different types of transmission systems.  The Skycontroller 4 uses a Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n transmission system, while the Skycontroller USA uses the same system plus an additional Microhard radio on the MIL version.  The drone operates at a maximum transmission distance of 4 km, giving you a wide range through which to conduct your mission.

Payload

Zoom Camera

One of the most powerful features of ANAFI USA is the 32x zoom camera.  You can observe people and objects from up to 2 km away, even reading a license plate from a distance of 130 m.  The zoom camera uses a dual optical 4K camera system that contains both a wide angle EO (Visual) camera and a telephoto EO camera.  Zooming between 1x and 5x uses the wide angle camera, while anything between 5x and 32x switches over to the telephoto camera.

Here are the key characteristics of the two EO cameras:

The camera automatically switches from the wide camera to the telephoto camera when zooming past 5x, guaranteeing a continuous zoom.  The wide camera lens has a 110° DFOV, bringing a 69° HFOV for video mode and a 75° HFOV for photo mode.  The tele camera lens has a 26° DFOV, bringing a 16° HFOV for the video mode and a 16° HFOV for the photo mode.  The telephoto lens has an angular resolution of 0.004°, allowing you to discern 10 cm details at a distance of 1,500 m.  This can be a major asset when searching for missing persons or inspecting details from a considerable distance.  It also uses 3-axis hybrid stabilization to ensure the image is never shaky.

The optical unit is assembled with the sensor using an Active alignment technique to ensure optical alignment. The factory also performs an image calibration, guaranteeing the ISP’s image quality specifications. Several optical tests are also performed during the production process, including MTF check on both the image center and image borders as well as checks for any cosmetic defects such as scratches or stains.

Thermal Camera

In addition to the powerful 32x zoom camera, the ANAFI USA drone has a thermal camera capable of detecting centimetric hot spots from an altitude of up to 40 m.  The drone carries a 60 Hz FLIR Bolson micro-bolometer equipped with a mechanical shutter that enables automatic recalibration of the sensor.  This makes sure that each thermal pixel’s response is completely consistent, allowing you to accurately read temperatures through the camera.  The lens has a 50° HFOV, giving you a wide view of the landscape.

ANAFI USA’s thermographic camera is designed with two complementary coloring modes that can adapt to any mission.  The relative mode displays a general view of the thermographic of a scene presented on a colored scale from 0 to 100.  Spot mode colorizes only the coldest or hottest spots of the image, depending on what your needs are for the mission.  The FreeFlight 6 app comes with a thermal analyzer feature that gives you full control over the on-screen rendering of any thermography video or photo from ANAFI USA.  You can use the analyzer to modify thermography modes and their thresholds, modify the blending between Visible and Thermal spectrums, and save as many screenshots as you want.

Parrot ANAFI USA also allows for IT/Visible blending, in which the zoom image is blended with images from the FLIR camera.  This allows you to detect thermal details within a visual image, injecting data from the visible image into the outcome footage.

Data Security Encryption

Another important feature of the Parrot ANAFI USA drone is its data security encryption.  The drone is Blue sUAS program approved, made in the USA, and NDAA & TAA compliant.  As a Blue sUAS drone, ANAFI USA protects the data stored on the drone or sent through the networks.  It also protects the drone against any malicious software modification attempts.  The software is digitally signed, which means that each update must come from Parrot and not be modified.  The access to ANAFI USA’s operating system is also protected, meaning the drone has no local or remote access to its embedded system.

The network links between the drone and the controller are authenticated and cyphered with a WPA2 protection (802.11i standard).  A unique encryption key is generated for each drone/controller couple, or users can define their own key.  The SD card is fully encrypted to protect the confidentiality of data stored on the drone, even if the drone winds up in the hands of a third party.  Once the encryption is activated, the SD card can’t be accessed without the encryption key.  The passphrase is held by FreeFlight 6 USA and never stored permanently on the drone.

By default, ANAFI USA, the controller, and FreeFlight 6 USA don’t share data to Parrot or third parties.  However, users may decide to share their flight logs in order to store them online, facilitate drone support, or help Parrot improve their products and services.  Users will have to activate data sharing in order to share data anonymously or link them to their Parrot account.

Flight Features And Partner Ecosystem

ANAFI USA’s flight features allow users to perform incredible feats with the drone.  Pilots can automatically pre-set flight routes and perform target-tracking.  The Return to Home (RTH) feature allows users to program a specified home location at the end of a mission, which automatically turns on when the drone disconnects or runs low on battery.

By using an open-source SDK with industry-standard protocols, ANAFI USA is capable of supporting a variety of professional applications, such as:

Pix4D
ANAFI USA is compatible with the mapping software Pix4Dreact, which allows first responders to turn images into precise 2D maps. The software uses photogrammetry algorithms to create digital copies of mapped surfaces and infrastructures.  

Drone Harmony
The Drone Harmony application makes it possible for inspectors to eliminate errors by optimizing the drone position and capturing accurate data. The flight planner considers the ground level for large scale topography missions, and allows for mapping in urban areas where interference may pose a challenge.

ANAFI USA can also support the following software and hardware solutions:

●      Hoverseen: an automated surveillance solution

●      Hextronics: system design and deployment products

●      UgCS: professional mission planning software

●      UAVIA: an automated surveillance missions planner

●      DroneSense: a drone software platform for public safety

●      Aloft: a platform for flight and drone workflows

●      Measure: a flight management and planning solutions

●      High Lander: drones for first aid and rescue teams

●      VOTIX: drone automation, BVLOS operation, precise landing, and drone-in-a-box integration

●      RIIS: artificial intelligence applications for drones

●      Rapid Imaging: AR geospatial solutions and situational awareness

●      Textron Systems: services and supports for aerospace and defense

●      Survae: geospatial media player for drones

●      DroneLogBook: flight logs synchronization with FreeFlight 6

●      WISeKey: secure element for drone

●      FoxFury: lighting for drones

●      Icarus Swarms: swarm flight system for emergency response forces

Parrot ANAFI USA: Is It Right For You?

ANAFI USA’s well designed hardware, SDK and expansive partner ecosystem make it perfect for almost any enterprise mission. The thermal and visual cameras work together to help you identify hotspots, perform inspections, and carry out the most important search and rescue missions. The ANAFI USA pack comes with the Skycontroller 4, while the ANAFI USA GOV pack comes with a Skycontroller USA, giving you a more powerful remote controller for your mission. The ANAFI USA MIL pack features an additional AES 256 encrypted Microhard radio communication system and is compatible with TOGA (Tactical Open Goverment Architecture), making it the most secure option of the three.

No matter which version you choose, the ANAFI USA drone will be sure to exceed your expectations as the most secure drone on the market.