Beginning with the release of the X-STAR Quadcopter in 2015, Autel Robotics has been a pioneer in developing and releasing UAV products. The success of their Evo Series has positioned Autel Robotics as a formidable competitor of DJI, firmly establishing the company within US markets. Their Evo Series was recognized for its foldable, portable design, while the Evo II Series quickly became the most powerful compact drone on the market. After Autel Robotics’ recent launch of their new Dragonfish Series, we’ve decided to compile a list of their major drones and the capabilities that make them such a formidable company in UAV development.
Autel has released two consumer drones in the EVO II Series: Evo II and Evo II Pro. Both drones come with superior photo and video capabilities that revolutionize aerial photography. In addition to the two consumer drones in the EVO II Series, Autel offers an Enterprise drone with an additional thermal imaging sensor for a wider variety of applications.
The Autel Evo II is a small, portable consumer drone capable of folding down for easier transport. The Evo II has a ½ inch CMOS Sensor that records 8K video in resolutions up to 7680x4320. This high resolution allows users to zoom in to capture every detail, while the 48 MP sensor guarantees sharp images and vivid color. It also comes with an F1.8 Aperture and 10-bit color depth that allows you to capture over 1 billion colors while retaining the details in both shadows and highlights.
With a maximum flight time of 40 minutes and maximum transmission range of 5.5 miles, you can fly the Evo II with confidence knowing that you can successfully capture everything you need in one mission. The Autel Evo II comes with 360-degree Obstacle Avoidance, relying on 19 groups of sensors to help keep the drone safe throughout the flight. These sensors can build 3D maps, allowing you to plan a path through difficult terrain in real time.
It also includes intelligent flight modes such as Dynamic Track 2.0, Hyperlapse, LiveDeck, and Instant Capture. Dynamic Track 2.0 allows you to model the location and speed of targets at the same time, accurately predicting their trajectory and continuously tracking them. Hyperlapse mode allows you to create perfect flight paths to record 8K images that can be immediately taken out of the drone and shared. With LiveDeck, you can stream live video feed directly from the Evo II to any monitor.
The Evo II Pro offers slightly greater camera capabilities thanks to its 1 inch CMOS Sensor and F2.8-F11 Aperture. The supersensitive sensor allows the Autel Evo II Pro to take high-quality low-light photography with greater dynamic range and stronger noise reduction. It can take 20 MP photos and record video resolutions up to 6K. It also uses phase detection autofocus to track fast-moving subjects with the utmost precision. Thanks to its hyper-light feature, the Evo II Pro is equipped with 2D and 3D noise reduction that smooths motion blur and reduces noise in low-light conditions.
The Evo II Pro has the same max flight time and max transmission range as the Evo II. It also offers intelligent flight modes such as Hyperlapse, 360-degree Obstacle Avoidance, LiveDeck, and Dynamic Track 2.0. Both the Evo II and the Evo II Pro are perfect for performing inspections, mapping, and surveillance operations. Their superior aerial photography capabilities also make them ideal for professional photographers and videographers.
The Evo II Enterprise Series comes with the Evo II Pro Enterprise and the Evo II Dual 640T Enterprise. Like the Autel Evo II Pro, the Autel Evo II Pro Enterprise comes with a 20 MP 1 inch CMOS Sensor and an adjustable aperture range of F2.8 to F11. This camera comes with 3x optical and 16x digital zoom capability to allow you to zoom in and capture faraway details.
The Evo II Dual 640T Enterprise drone has two cameras: the 48 MP visual camera and a second camera with a 640x512 Thermal Imaging Sensor. These built-in infrared sensors and high-speed processors give you multiple temperature measurement functions, making it easy to interpret data in real time.
The Evo II Pro Enterprise drone can be used for public safety and traffic supervision purposes thanks to its zoom capabilities, as well as any application that requires you to create 3D maps of an area. The Evo II Dual 640T Enterprise has thermal capabilities that make it perfect for firefighting and search and rescue operations. It can also be useful to find overheating electrical elements during power inspections.
The Autel Evo Nano Series is notable for including microdrones below 250g, putting it underneath the limits set by Transport Canada. These drones are perfect for beginners and amateur videographers, as they combine easy-to-use functions with a powerful camera and intelligent flight modes. The Autel Evo Nano Series comes with the Evo Nano and Evo Nano+, both of which provide you with an array of intelligent flight features that make flying easier than ever before. Choose from Autel Orange, Arctic White, Blazing Red, and Deep Space Gray to find a color that matches your style.
The Autel Evo Nano comes with a 48 MP camera with a ½ inch CMOS Sensor that records 4K/30fps video. Thanks to its three-axis mechanical gimbal, your footage will be smooth and stable without interruption from vibrations. The Evo Nano+ comes with a 1/1.28 inch CMOS Sensor that can take 50 MP photos. Its RYYB color filter array design and F1.9 aperture give you excellent noise reduction capabilities that guarantee quality images no matter what lighting conditions you’re shooting in.
Major Features
With both drones in the Evo Nano Series, you can use HDR mode to extract rich details from shadows and highlights, as the drone will take multiple photos at different exposures and automatically stitch them together. Additionally, Dynamic Track 2.1 and the PDAF + CDAF autofocus system will track fast-moving objects with the utmost precision. The drones in the Evo Nano Series use SkyLink video transmission system with a range of 6.2 miles and a max flight time of 28 minutes. Thanks to the three-way binocular vision sensors, you can detect obstacles in front of, behind, and below the drone to avoid collisions.
The Autel Evo Nano Series comes with SkyPortrait, which will automatically raise the drone into the air and take a photo of you and your friends.
You can choose from four different automatic shooting modes to take professional and dramatic shots, adding a soundtrack and filters in the Autel Sky app to further enhance your videos.
Choose between Rocket, Fade Away, Orbit, and Flick to shoot a quick video before uploading it to social media to wow your friends.
Lastly, the Evo Nano Series comes with the SoundRecord function that allows you to record voices and ambient sounds on the ground through your smartphone.
You can also use SuperDownload to download photos on your smartphone through the Autel Sky app simply by placing the phone close to the drone.
The MovieMaster function on the Autel Sky app provides you with plenty of templates to make cinematic movies with a simple editing process.
The Autel Evo Lite Series is designed to capture crisp, vibrant details at night. Both the Evo Lite and the Evo Lite+ offer you advanced capabilities for shooting photos and videos at night. Whether you’re performing inspections in the evening, conducting surveillance, or simply trying to film quality footage at dusk or dawn, the Evo Lite Series has the night-shooting capabilities you need.
The Autel Evo Lite+ is equipped with a 1 inch CMOS Sensor that shoots 20 MP photos and 6K/30FPS video. The Evo Lite+ comes with an adjustable aperture between F2.8 to F11, allowing you to adjust exposure and depth of field to curate your images however you like. The intelligent moonlight algorithm that helps you shoot better footage at night, while Defog Mode allows you to penetrate the fog and make the footage look clear by adjusting the camera’s vibrance settings.
The most notable feature of the Evo Lite is its four-axis gimbal, which allows you to shoot vertical videos without interference. The supersensitive 50 MP camera comes with a 1/1.28 inch CMOS Sensor that shoots 4K HDR video, while the RYYB color filter array design gives you more natural color than ever before. It also uses the PDAF + CDAF autofocus system to track fast-moving subjects and capture them instantly.
Major Features
Both drones in the Evo Lite Series come in Arctic White, Deep Space Gray, and the classic Autel Orange.
They also come equipped with the same four automatic shooting modes and SkyPortrait features as the Evo Nano Series.
With Dynamic Track 2.1, you can use the Evo Lite to automatically follow any person, vehicle, or animal while you focus on filming instead of flying.
The Autel Evo Lite Series has a maximum flight range of 7.4 miles and a maximum flight time of 40 minutes, keeping you in the air long enough to get the job done.
Its ultra wide angle obstacle avoidance uses sensors to detect obstacles within a 150-degree field of view from the front, below, and behind.
Like the Autel Nano Series, the Evo Lite Series comes with SoundRecord and SuperDownload to make recording and transferring a breeze.
The Dragonfish Series is a modular, waterproof, and reliable drone with plenty of AI capabilities and payload options for your mission. The Series includes three drones: the Dragonfish Lite, Dragonfish Standard, and Dragonfish Pro. When equipped with a payload, the maximum flight time is 75 minutes for the Dragonfish Lite, 120 minutes for the Dragonfish Standard, and 180 minutes for the Dragonfish Pro. This extended flight time gives you greater flexibility to complete a variety of missions.
Aircraft
The Dragonfish aircraft is compact and portable, allowing you to be mission ready in only 5 minutes. It has a wind resistance rating of level 6 and IP43 weather resistance that allows it to fly in complex environments. It includes an interchangeable payload system that allows you to swap payloads based on your mission needs. The Dragonfish Lite can include the Z2, T3, and T3H payloads, while the Dragonfish Standard can also include the L20T payload. The Dragonfish Pro can handle all payloads including the L50T, making it the most versatile model in the Dragonfish Line.
The Autel Dragonfish Series uses advanced flight control technology and RTK modules to give the aircraft centimeter-accurate location data. You can use the Autel Ground Control Station to operate the aircraft, viewing the controls on a 9.7 inch touchscreen. When using a base station, you can transmit images from 18.6 miles, while the image transmission distance is 6.2 miles without a base station.
The Autel Voyager is designed specifically for the Dragonfish, giving you a remote control with powerful intelligent flight features for your mission. Mission planning allows you to plan waypoint, polygon, and rectangular missions beforehand to allow autonomous flight. You can use Tap to Fly to maneuver to specific locations, while Mission Management allows you to monitor past missions and assign flights. With Quick Mission, you can set points of interest on the flight map at any time during the mission to send the Dragonfish wherever you want it.
Thanks to the Autel Dragonfish Series, you won’t need as much training or maintenance to conduct missions. This drone is perfect for many applications including public safety, forest fire prevention, powerline inspection, traffic law enforcement, and coastal patrol and security. You can even use it for agricultural monitoring thanks to its ability to collect and analyze multi-spectral images of farmland.
These drones from Autel Robotics are powerful competitors to DJI’s well-known drones. Although Autel Robotics is a fairly recent company, they’ve achieved quick success with their powerful lines of consumer and enterprise drones. It remains to be seen what’s to come for the company as they continue to release more advanced, portable drones.
Dr Drone
Author
DrDrone is Canada's leading provider of drone technical services, with over a decade of experience and the distinction of being the first company in the country to offer drone servicing and repairs. As the largest drone vendor in Canada, we are also the primary supplier of Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) to the Canadian government. Our team members possess extensive knowledge of each drone's technical specifications and have a wealth of hands-on experience. For more than ten years, we have been dismantling and reconstructing drones, ensuring a deep understanding of these systems.