The Schiebel Group has a long history in Austria: In the 1950s, Hans-Georg Schiebel took over the family business from his father and initially specialized in technologically advanced mine detectors. Under CEO Hannes Hecher, Schiebel advanced to become the world market leader for unmanned helicopters. The “Camcopter S-100” is the flagship of the company. With a length of 3 meters and a weight of around 100 kilograms, it is a real high-tech product “made in Austria”.
The “Camcopter S-100” flies continuously autonomously. The flight route and course are programmed in advance. The ground station monitors the current position, receives the digital signals and ensures data transmission from the unmanned helicopter. “Individual areas can be defined and assigned a task to the drone,” explains Hecher in the “Chefsache” interview. The operational radius of such a helicopter is 200 kilometers – and it is truly unique: special electronics and sensors make it impossible to copy the model. A special 3D printer has also been in use for several years, which prints the titanium parts required for the construction of the helicopter.
As unique as the “Camcopter S-100” is, its areas of application are all the more varied: the autonomous high-tech helicopter can not only be used in forestry and agriculture for ground measurements, but is also used at border crossings for monitoring or observing troop movements application, as explained by Hecher. The data and images collected by the camcopter are transmitted directly to the respective station.
The Schiebel Group is now a real global player: The world market leader in its field has branches in Europe, Asia, Australia and the USA.
If you are curious about the complete “Chefsache” interview by eXXpress editor Eva Schütz with Schiebel CEO Hannes Hecher, then be sure to tune in today at 8.15 p.m. – right here on eXXpress.at, on eXXpressTV or on Magenta Kabelkanal 170!
