The startup FloFleet is helped by Dassault Systèmes for a breakthrough in the field of rescue operations and protecting the environment
Drones, despite certain limitations such as flight independence and load capacity, are a good example of innovation that revolutionized aerial monitoring, aerial photography and surveillance activities, previously performed by helicopters, at a high financial and environmental cost.
The startup FloFleet, through the Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS program for startups, intends to bring about a revolution in aerial monitoring and in the field of underground exploration. The entrepreneurs have designed an autonomous electric airship that will serve as a sustainable alternative to drones, helicopters and other remote-controlled aircraft.
FloFleet's first airship was designed to travel on predetermined routes with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers and a payload starting at 8 kg, which includes cameras, thermal imaging cameras, gravity meters, magnetometers and lidar sensors for environmental surveillance, critical infrastructure monitoring, subsurface analysis, Photogrammetry, mapping of territories and topography, flight over areas affected by natural disasters and emergency situations. FloFleet's innovative solution enables a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions caused by the use of airplanes and helicopters for these tasks. In addition, the project makes it possible to significantly reduce the costs of operating flights and aerial monitoring.
FloFleet started as an ambitious startup with far-reaching goals in the field of sustainability and efficiency. The startup achieved its goals, also thanks to Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The design and construction of the first prototype posed significant engineering challenges, particularly when it came to finding the right balance between load capacity, range and weight. The simulation software solutions allowed FloFleet to model the airship and perform tests and evaluations in a virtual environment, significantly reducing development time and costs.
One of the most important aspects was defining the volumes and surfaces of the airship by balancing the aerodynamics, the solar panel and the containment space for the helium - to ensure the correct aerostatic thrust. The use of Dassault Systèmes' SOLIDWORKS applications on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform contributed to achieving the desired balance and enabled maximum collaboration, flexibility and accessibility to data in the cloud and the ability to conveniently track version changes in this complex project.
The fact that the startup could test several 02D models in a virtual environment allowed the developers to reduce CXNUMX emissions during the design phase and also cut prototype costs. FloFleet actually created the structure of the airship, as it is today, with one temporary prototype.
The simplicity and speed of simulation when working with SOLIDWORKS on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform helped FloFleet reduce computing costs and, as a result, energy consumption, which gave the project additional environmental and economic benefits.
