The Italian company FloFleet continues the development of its first self-driving electric airship prototype. An innovative solution for the mobility of the future made possible thanks to the "Solidworks for Startups" program, through which the Dassault Systèmes company (French Dassault Group) makes software for the development of aircraft available to start-ups.

The aircraft is designed to be used in surveillance operations, environmental monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, territorial mapping, and in emergency and medical rescue missions. According to some technical details disclosed by the company, the first FloFleet blimp would have a range of up to 5000 kilometers and the ability to transport a load of up to 8 kilos (cameras, thermal imaging cameras, gravimeters, magnetometers and lidars).

The electric airship allows for a significant reduction in operating costs in aviation activities, as well as a 100% reduction in Co2 emissions resulting from the use of planes and helicopters in similar operations. The design and construction of the first prototype posed significant engineering challenges, particularly when it came to finding the correct balance between load capacity, range and weight.