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Elios
Flyability
Not yet assessed
- Height
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- Payload
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- Verified autonomy
- not assessed
- Real deployment
- not assessed
- Status
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- Price
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Elios
FlyabilityThe Elios 3 is a confined-space inspection drone made by Flyability (Lausanne, Switzerland), equipped with onboard LiDAR, a camera/IMU suite, and optional payloads including ultrasound NDT and a flammable gas sensor. Its primary task is visual and non-destructive inspection of GPS-denied, inaccessible indoor environments such as mines, tanks, and industrial infrastructure. The drone is piloted by a human operator for the initial mapping/inspection flight, with autonomy features (Smart Return-to-Home, Autonomous Repeat Flight, obstacle avoidance) reducing cognitive load and enabling repeatable re-execution of recorded missions — but the vendor explicitly states autonomy is designed to support, not replace, the pilot. Research groups have demonstrated fully autonomous contact-based NDT on the Elios 3 platform, but this is an experimental capability, not the standard commercial product offering. The system is best characterized as Supervised-Autonomous for its Autonomous Repeat Flight mode and as Teleoperated/Supervised-Autonomous for initial manual flights, with the overall operational model sitting at Supervised-Autonomous.
Availability
Specification
- flight time (standard battery)
- 9 minutes 10 seconds
- flight time (high-capacity battery)
- 13 minutes 30 seconds (~50% increase); available from June 26, 2025
Price
No public price — contact the supplier for a quote.
Good · Bad · Ugly
Evidence-graded claims from the Flyability deep report
Flyability raised a CHF 22 million Series C round led by SBI Investment, with participation from Cargill and Verve Ventures.
The CHF 22M Series C (CHF 7M initial + CHF 15M extension) is confirmed by Flyability's own press release [7] and independently reported by Dronelife and sUAS News [10][11], providing corroboration from trade press beyond the company's own PR; the separately cited $40M figure [8] remains unverified from a low-confidence aggregator source.
from Flyability deep report →
The Elios 3 uses embedded LiDAR for real-time 3D mapping and SLAM-based stabilization in GPS-denied confined spaces.
LiDAR and SLAM capabilities are confirmed by official and commerce sources [1][4][6], but no independent benchmark, peer-reviewed test, or third-party field evaluation in the dossier verifies mapping accuracy or stabilization performance under real operational conditions.
from Flyability deep report →The Elios 3 has approximately 1,000 customers across 68 countries, with distributors in 27 countries and offices in the USA, Singapore, China, and Lausanne.
These deployment figures are cited by official Flyability sources and echoed by news outlets [7][10][11], but no independent audit, customer registry, or third-party market report in the dossier corroborates the specific customer count or geographic spread.
from Flyability deep report →The Elios 3 eliminates the need for human confined space entry during visual inspections, providing a direct safety benefit.
This safety benefit is asserted by Flyability's own official source [1] and is conceptually consistent with the product design, but no independent safety regulator, insurer, or third-party case study in the dossier quantifies or verifies actual reduction in confined-space entry incidents.
from Flyability deep report →The Elios 3 offers up to 12 minutes of flight time on battery, with an optional Tether Power Unit enabling continuous (unlimited) power supply.
Flight time and tether option specs are stated by official and commerce sources [1][4][6], but no independent field test or third-party review in the dossier validates these figures under real-world payload and environmental conditions.
from Flyability deep report →The Elios 3 is priced at approximately $60,000–$70,000 depending on configuration, making it a premium industrial inspection tool.
The $60,000–$70,000 price range is reported by a Reddit community post [2] rather than an official price list or independent retail listing, and the dossier assigns only 0.82 confidence to this figure; no verified invoice, distributor price sheet, or journalist-confirmed quote is present.
from Flyability deep report →
About the company
Editorial directory of real robot products from leading global manufacturers. Each entry links to the manufacturer's official page.