Omer wanted to give us a quick visual demonstration of how the new infrared precision landing system for the delivery drone will work. This system uses an infrared beacon that emits a certain pattern of light that the receiver on the drone will look for and then lock on to.

The beacon will be continuously emitting this light pattern but since human eyes can’t see infrared light, it will be invisible to us. While we can’t see it, the drone will be able to locate this light in rainy, cloudy/foggy, or sunny conditions.

You can see in the video below that the camera is set up about 15 meters from the IR beacon and it shows exactly where it is. As the drone moves closer, it will make adjustments to keep this beacon in the center of the target until it lands. This system is very accurate and can land the drone down to a centimeter or two.

This system will make landings much more precise and safer since the margin of error in this system is so low. Using IR will help make sure that the drone can see the light in any conditions without flashing a distracting light that humans can see. This project is coming along nicely and will hopefully be ready to deliver your pizza at sea very soon!