Over the last two decades, drone technology has really evolved leading to improved handling and stability making them much easier to fly. However, whether as a result of some kind of malfunction or just sheer pilot incompetence, you will always hear of instances where people are left watching helplessly as their drone plummets from the sky to what is a sure mechanical death. Nobody wants to see their beloved drone crash, especially if it is one of those thousand dollar drones. This has been one of the major concerns for people looking to buy drones particularly inexperienced pilots, until now.

An Australia based company, Drone Rescue, has come up with a system which they think will solve this particular drone problem. Their solution is a seemingly simple one. The idea is to attach a parachute to the drone that will automatically deploy when it detects problems that would cause the drone to fall from the sky. Such a system will not only save it from breaking into a when it hits the ground, but will also reduce the risk of causing injury or damage to an individual or property in the event of a crash.

Drone Rescue is organizing their first public demonstration of the system at the Intergeo tech event in Frankfurt, Germany. They have created two parachute modules, DRS-10 and DRS-5, which can be attached to a wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles. The DRS-5 is designed for drones weighing up to 8kg (18 pounds) while the DRS-10 is designed for drones between 5 and 20kg (11 to 44 pounds).

The automatic parachute system is made up of a carbon container that contains the parachute as well as sensors that detect when things aren’t functioning properly. The moment the drone starts rapidly declining, the parachute will automatically deploy. A key part of the system ensures that the motors automatically stop spinning once the parachute deploys so that it does not get tangled.

Another addition to the parachute is a data recorder which functions much like a black box found in airplanes. The data can later be reviewed allowing the drone operator to know exactly what caused the drone failure. This parachute system could pave the way for drone use by more businesses. Drone Rescue plans to launch the parachute system before the end of the year.