Lehmann Aviation updates its GoPro-toting LA100 drone

A couple of years ago, France’s Lehmann Aviation introduced its LA100, a fully autonomous fixed-wing UAV designed to carry a user-supplied GoPro Hero camera. Now, the company has announced the LA100 Version2, which features Wi-Fi connectivity and a new Windows Phone 8-based OperationCenter control interface app.

Like the original LA100 that it's replacing, the Version2 is designed for users who want to perform aerial photography and/or mapping, but who have little or no previous experience with UAVs. To use it, they program in a flight path, hand-launch the aircraft, then just sit back and wait as it follows that path, snapping stills or video as it does so.

While they previously had to use a PC or laptop to program the flight path, however, users can now do so on a Windows Phone 8 smartphone or tablet. This makes it less cumbersome to simply choose a flight path on location, instead of drawing one up in advance.

The addition of Wi-Fi means that via the OperationCenter app, users can also check the drone's progress and systems (including its battery level) in real time, as it's in flight.

The Version2's specs are pretty much identical to those of the original LA100, which can be found in our previous article on that model. The price is also still the same, at €990 (about US$1,370). If you want something that can go a little farther, you might be more interested in the LA200 and LA300 models.

Check out the video below to see a brief demo of the OperationCenter app.