DJI has delivered a battery-swapping drone dock, the Dock 4, with an automated 25-second swap this week, according to a company press release. The dock bypasses the normal recharging process, which would take about 30 minutes, and DJI promises a turnaround of under 45 seconds from landing to takeoff. The drone-in-a-box solution is the first of its type by the company, although not in the industry, and is aimed at applications like emergency response but is not FCC-authorized or for sale in the U.S.
The company emphasizes the safety angle, pitching the Dock 4 as a “dock-as-a-first-responder (DFR)” solution. Its product page calls it “Always There, Always Ready.” Swapping the battery takes less than half a minute, and the drone is back in the air within 45 seconds of landing. The dock also charges two 925 g battery packs, rated at 260 Wh for 400 cycles, at once, estimated to take 27 minutes to get each from 15% to 95%.
5 hours each, in sequence. Additionally, with at least two packs loaded, the dock is able to continue swapping even when grid power is lost, although backup power doesn’t charge the packs. This configuration should enable a drone to handle back-to-back calls even in less-than-ideal circumstances. The new dock, 66 kg bare, also has the same 400 x 400 mm mounting holes as the Dock 3, but it only works with the Matrice 5TD drone and requires the DJI O4 Ground Station.
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