The iF Product Design Award 2024 winners have been recently announced, and among the 2,294 iF award recipients from 10,800 submissions, a UAV piqued our interest. It’s the new Shadow S3 from Chinese UAV maker Ziyan, designed for law enforcement, security, and various commercial applications. Just a recap, Ziyan is the maker of the bomb-dropping UAV.
While I’m captivated by the futuristic look of the Ziyan Shadow S3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, I couldn’t help but notice that the product renders on the iF Design Award 2024 page differ from those on Ziyan’s official website. I assume the renders for the award are conceptual designs, while the actual product is showcased on Ziyan’s site. Regardless, both versions look like they’re plucked from the future, not belonging to our current era – absolutely stunning, and it’s no wonder the Shadow S3 snagged the design award.
As a regular here, you’d know I’m a complete sucker for high-tech hardware and futuristic machines, hence my attraction for this particular UAV. The Ziyan Shadow S3 adopts a helicopter-style design for aerial imaging and surveillance—a rare choice today.
Designed with law enforcement and commercial applications like land surveying in mind, it supports a tri-sensor gimbal camera and a megaphone/spotlights combo. The UAV is versatile, with capabilities for additional payloads, and customizable through a universal SDK to meet various industry needs.
This vehicle has a maximum take-off weight of 6.99 kilograms (15 lbs), offers up to 100 minutes of flight time, and reaches top speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph or 54 knots). It boasts AI-powered recognition for target tracking and identification, terrain-following, and LiDAR detection for smart obstacle avoidance. The Shadow S3 operates in a wide range of temperatures, from freezing -20°C to a scorching 55°C (about -4 to 131 Fahrenheit).
The aircraft features speed and pitch adaptive control that responds within a millisecond while RTK Centimeter-level Positioning allows for stable hovering and precise flight paths. Notably, the Shadow S3 includes a new generation ground control station with virtual joysticks and full touchscreen control for a game-like user experience.
Additional features include a ceiling height of 7,000 meters (22,966 feet), up to 15 km (9.3 miles) of HD video transmission range, automatic return-to-home on low battery or signal loss, Level 7 wind resistance, and a lightweight, portable, and modular design for easy transportation in a backpack. If your interest is piqued, you can learn more about the Ziyan Shadow S3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle HERE.
Here are the images posted on iF Award website:
Images: Ziyan.
