Diamond Hero

The Diamond Hero is an unmanned helicopter that the Austrian maker Diamond Aircraft Industries showed at the Aero show in Friedrichshafen in April 2012, where it was described as still under development. It grew out of the company's experience building airborne sensor systems on the Diamond DA42. The design is meant to fly autonomously and use artificial intelligence to judge its own situation; if an engine failed, for example, the aircraft would examine the terrain below and choose the best place for an autorotational landing. Two Austro Engine AE55 Wankel engines power it. Reported figures are a sensor payload of 250 pounds (113 kilograms), 6.5 hours of flight endurance or four hours of hover endurance, and a recovery parachute. Company chief executive Christian Dries described it as a little beyond a regular unmanned aircraft.