Lumecube, a company known for its ultra-portable lighting solutions, has released a new product in the shape of an anti-collision light for drones.
The Lumecube Strobe can be attached to any drone using 3M Dual Lock technology and weighs only ten grams, minimizing the impact on flight performance and time. It's designed in line with all FAA guidelines for anti-collision lighting and, according to Lumecube, is visible from more than three miles away.
The light is visible from 360 degrees and can flash white, red or green, depending on the color filter attached. There are also multiple light modes, including a fast speed of 60 strobes per second. The Stobe uses a micro-USB cable for charging and, according to Lumecube, provides more than two hours of run time in fast strobe mode. A button lets you cycle through various strobe modes, including a continuous lighting mode.
The Strobe is available now for $49.95. More information can be found on the Lumecube website.
That's nice idea but don't forget that the drone operator has the responsibility of avoiding any collisions and he has to get away if someone else like helicopter is flying nearby. Planes will certainly not have time or flexibility to duck some drone hovering nearby no matter how brightly lit it will be.
Better solution is to submit your flight plan and everyone else flying would see it on their app or instrument panel, preferably showing real time position of any craft. That way you can simply avoid unneccesary contact.
The functions they listed are also present on those cheap ebay rechargeable head lamps that sell for $8 (which have a strobe function) The product designed for the drone is even cheaper to make since it does not require the 3 section head band present on those head lamps. they also have 6 LEDs on them instead of the 4 in overpriced product.
It is cheaper to just get those velcro strips and stick it to the drone and headlamp be first removing the rear hinged back plate that allows you to angle the lamp when attached to your head, then just rapidly press the power button until it gets to the strobe mode, then stick it on the drone.
With today's LED technology, having color options without the need for snap on filters would have been better. Also less weight and no chance of misplacing a filter.
Three miles is the FAA visibility requirement. These are markers to be seen by other craft, not just drone pilots. The price is fair considering the cost of the existing alternatives. These things are super bright...not just a cheap set of flashing LEDs. Firehouse has been selling LED strobes without the housing, color filters, or mount for $45, so this price is quite reasonable.
3 mile visibility is not hard to achieve, when camping, even cheap Shenzhen market flash lights set to a strobe mode could be seen from well over 3 miles When there is not much light pollution, you would be surprised how little lumen output is needed for a strobe to be clearly visible.
Though with many even cheap modern head lamps, you are dealing with over 500 lumens. Furthermore, if you are only going to do strobe, you can easily adjust the LED driver and overdrive the LED since it will never be on long enough to cause it to overheat.
3 miles away is not legal in any sense. In most countries you have to have direct visual contact with the drone such as that you can clearly see the orientation, not only one blinking light. That gives you couple hundred meters of range at most. Also flying at night is not allowed too, so you are limited in daytime where visibility of even strong LED won't be great. Mavic has already position LEDs built in and it gets lost easily after few hundred meters. FPV flying is not allowed.
thats cheap compared to what others are trying to sell lights for drones. 3 miles isnt legal? faa says it is. its not for you to see your drone its for others to see it and its better than no light night flying prohibited? waiver. and regs are in the works to permits it w/o waivers. read your regs they change every few months
planes can fly down to 400 ft in uncontrolled airspace. many pilots dont follow that rule and around here where houses and people around and thats an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft. and who's to say the drone operator is going to follow the rules for drones? ive seen drones within a mile of the AFB at night in a residential area.
Based on the design it appears that the "field of view" of the strobe is limited. There are angles where the strobe will not be visible. Based on the image in the article any where to the rear and all areas below the drone will not see the strobe. This is hardly 360 deg coverage.
The assumption may be that any approaching aircraft will always be above the drone, but there are numerous YouTube videos that show this is not always the case.
Of course, having the strobe facing downwards might interfere with whatever is being recorded.
I'm confused. Drones already have lights on them. Is this really necessary?
I was hoping that drone technology for drones used in the wilderness could go in the opposite direction- quieter, lights-off mode, and with varying camoflauge painted on them like the old WWII airplanes that helped them "disappear" when viewed from either above or below...
If I start seeing lights on drones from 3 miles away, well, I think it's time for my favorite Professor Farnsworth quote as of late...
"I DONT' WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE."
(gets ready to ignore all the pro-drone comments.)
They don't have LEDs that meet FAA night flying specs. And the LEDs vary a lot on drones. My Parrot Anafi has one downward-facing blue light, for example. I use a bright Firehouse LED strobe to provide better visibility for my drone.
Hey Matt, I hear you. Don't need to be doing a Milky Way long exposure in a remote location with a dotted line going through the pic!!
On the other side, ... I am a pro drone guy... but the right tool at the right time! I can turn the lights off on my Mavics and it's already grey and inconspicuous, but yes, the noise is still there. This is a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. You should not be flying in such a way that would conflict with other airspace users. Should not be flying outside visual line of sight. The only logical use should be for Search and Rescue operations and commercial / infrastructure inspection type applications.
There are still good guys out there trying not to be a nuisance. vsk
my black drone disappears in the shadows under trees . the 4 strobe lights it has are not very bright day or night and on the bottom of the drone. no help for it to be seen from above.
Anti-collision lights on airplanes work because planes follow predictable, linear flight paths, and because both pilots can see the other plane's lights. Drones' flight paths are usually unpredictable, and the drone operator may not see or pay attention to an oncoming plane, thus only one side will have the opportunity to take evasive measures to avoid a collision.
after 2020 drones will be obligated to have transponders (so, they will be seen as for pilots as fro flight control), all flight path and location conformation is already a must in major eu and western states. and all other regulations about max height, distance from people, buildings, infrastructure etc makes regulations for drone one of the most regulated things. so please, stop thgis nonsense about civil drone invading etc.
Also, needing to be seen from 3 miles away is necessary because many planes can cover that distance in a matter of seconds.
In short, this is a product needed by nobody except those who wish to be even more horribly obnoxious when flying their swarm-of-bees sounding drone around. Ugh.
what happens when the drone im flying in my hood has a collision with amazons drone or the fast food drone making a delivery? will the NTSB FAA have a full blown investigation?
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