This Miniature Plane Is Sony's New Commercial Drone Prototype

Sony is the latest tech brand to enter the burgeoning drone market with the debut of two new models, one of which is shown above. The Japanese company partnered with Tokyo robotics firm ZMP, Inc. last month to create the joint company Aerosense, the purpose of which will be to develop drones to survey and inspect hard-to-reach areas. The first design to debut is the DTO1-E, a winged vertical take-off craft with a central rotor that can carry up to 22 pounds (10kg) and fly for two hours at speeds of 106 mph (176 km/h). It is accompanied by a more traditional quadcopter design called the AS-MCO1-P, which packs a camera and GPS capabilities in addition to being smaller and lighter. The drones will be targeted towards enterprise solutions for now, with no plans currently to enter the consumer market.