The drone by C-Astral company was awarded the prestigious Red Dot design award

Considered the “Oscars of design”, the Red Dot Award is one of the most prestigious design awards in the world and has been awarded since 1955. It rewards achievements in the fields of product design, communication design and planning. The title “Best of the Best” is the highest award given to pioneering design products. So far, five Slovenian products have received the award in their respective categories, among them the companies Akrapovič, Elan and Adria Dom. With this, they stood alongside such prestigious brands as Apple, which received the award for virtual glasses, Ferrari, Airbus, Volvo and others.

The company C-Astral exists since 2007. With a young team of 30 engineers and experts from various fields, it develops and produces small unmanned aerial systems that achieve the longest flight times on the market and the highest data capture accuracy. They are already used in more than 60 countries on all continents in demanding flight conditions.

About the award-winning drone

The SQA eVTOL unmanned aircraft system, which measures just under three meters across the wings and weighs twelve kilograms, combines advanced aerodynamics and a high degree of autonomy. It works with minimal human intervention through a user interface developed by the company over the last 10 years. The system can be equipped with various sensors, which make it suitable for various purposes, for example for monitoring in the event of natural disasters, searching for missing persons, surveillance and optimisation of agricultural processes, geodesy, monitoring of gas pipelines and electricity distribution networks, tracking migrations of animal species, border protection, reconnaissance and many others.

The award-winning product is a very complex high-tech device consisting of more than 400 components. The construction of the drone is made of the most advanced ultra-light materials and electronic components that are also used in the space industry. The product is entirely the result of Slovenian know-how. Composite materials, electronic circuits and management software are developed in-house and in cooperation with Slovenian partners. Within a year, the remaining two components out of a total of 400 will be produced in Slovenia.

This year, one of the pioneers from the world of aviation, Ivo Boscarol, also entered the company as an owner, which signals the company’s serious strategic transition into the production of high-tech industry.

For more information, you can download the Press Release (in Slovenian language)