Undefined's 'Silent' Ion-Propulsion Drone May be on Track for Commercial Production Soon

According to Undefined Technologies, which just debuted a new outdoor flight test video, Florida's "silent" flying dish-rack, propelled by ionic propulsion, is scheduled to go into general production in 2024.

How Does the Silent Ventus Fly?

As reported first by New Atlas, Undefined's drone, known as the "Silent Ventus," does not fly with propellers.

Instead, the entire broad structure consists of two stacked grids of electrodes that are intended to generate high-voltage electric fields that can ionize air molecules like oxygen and nitrogen by releasing electrons to give them a positive charge.

These positively charged molecules are then propelled downward to create an "ionic wind" that can generate thrust. Additionally, Undefined claims that its "Air Tantrum" technology produces up to 150% higher thrust than existing ion thruster systems out there.

The company debuted its technology in 2020, claiming a 25-second flight time but only demonstrating a few shaky seconds in a "test lab" video that appeared to have been shot in a small box, despite the adamant protestations of large height marks along each wall, according to New Atlas.

The company then claimed that this test drone produced noises of roughly 90 dB, which is much louder than "quiet" and much closer to a "hairdryer."

Undefined also claimed a 2.5-minute indoor flight earlier this year, 2022, at a lowered noise level of 85 decibels and provided a 39-second video as evidence.

But now, Undefined said that it had flown a prototype for a straight four and a half minutes, with the flight being captured in one minute and 17 seconds of edited footage.

Higher Energy Densities

"This 4+ min flight required advances in the chemical composition of the batteries that can now provide us with higher energy densities," Undefined's Lead Aerospace Engineer Thomas Benda Jr. said in a press release.

He adds, "this improvement is part of our efforts to target lighter weights."

Undefined claims that its "silent" 70-dB drones will result in fewer noise complaints in urban cargo delivery services compared to propeller-driven designs.

However, established drone delivery company Wing has received complaints about its drones, measured at 69 dB at a 15-m (50-ft) distance back in 2019, as per New Atlas.

By 2024, the business hopes to have a serial drone ready for manufacturing. Undefined Technologies said it is prepared to begin a fresh investment round after getting significant interest from Federal and Commercial institutions.

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla