DJI drones with special parachute are allowed to fly over crowds in the US

A parachute system designed for a DJI drone has been approved in the US, which allows these drones to fly over crowds exceptionally. The parachute must unfold in case of problems and prevent the device from posing a danger to people on the ground.

It concerns a parachute system called Nexus, which was developed by the company Indemnis. According to the company, the Nexus is a “ballistic parachute launcher” that automatically activates if the drone suddenly starts to tilt or fall abnormally. At that moment, the parachute is deployed within 30ms, which corresponds to a speed of 120 to 145 km/h. This unfolding is done via a tube that is inflated very quickly. This tube must prevent the lines of the parachute from getting entangled in, for example, the propellers of the drone.

Currently, the Nexus system is approved for the DJI Inspire 2 drone, but it should also be available for DJI Matrice 200 and 600 series drones by the end of this year. These are professional drones, not intended for consumers.

The Alaskan company Indemnis has had to pass quite a few functionality tests before the approval of its parachute system. The parachute system was developed in collaboration with DJI and the FAA, the US aviation regulator.

In the US, professional drone pilots can be licensed to fly over crowds if they can demonstrate that they have implemented robust security measures. The Indemnis parachute system is an example of such a measure.