Wingtra announced its new drone, WingtraRAY, today. The only drone designed specifically for surveyors, it breaks down limits that have held them back thanks to waiver-free operations over people OOP,* and a wider range of hot-swap sensors. Driving a complete plan-capture-process-share solution, WingtraRAY opens access to surveyors of all experience levels to tackle urban infrastructure, massive mines and time-sensitive sites without waiver delays or equipment changes. It’s also AUVSI Green and DIU Blue Cleared listed for fast-track use on sensitive US government projects.
WingtraRAY makes it possible to set up a site after your morning coffee, fly 100 ha/250 ac in ten minutes, and sync the data for processing in two hours, delivering it to any stakeholder before lunch.
*WingtraRAY’s parachute add-on is category 3 OOP approved, removing waiver requirements for flying over people across 98 percent of US territory. In Europe, this avails C6 certification and qualifies WingtraRAY for EASA STS-02, unlocking waiver-free work in open areas, plus faster, easier approvals processes for BVLOS and urban and infrastructure projects.
“WingtraRAY holds three promises that sets it apart from other surveying methods,” said Julian Surber, Senior Product Manager at Wingtra. “First, it’s more cost effective because you have one workflow that lets you cover a lot of acres at a low cost and eliminates site revisits.
Next, it brings a new level of peace of mind to aerial surveying with the parachute, the obstacle avoidance and other safety features. Third, it empowers customers to take on almost any kind of project with one platform, as it supports six high-quality, survey-optimized payloads.”
Driving an all-in-one aerial workflow, WingtraRAY reduces the stress of wasted time and project delays. It guides and confirms accuracy along every step of the survey process. Simply put: pilots are no longer exposed to mistakes from switching tools and manual tasks.
How WingtraRAY pays for itself in just months
Powering the most cost-effective survey solution on the market today, WingtraRAY literally buys surveyors and companies time in several key ways:
Survey more acres per hour. Everything speeds up with the WingtraRAY and the Wingtra workflow. Set up ground control with a guided receiver workflow that provides on and offline GCPs. Prep WingtraRAY to fly in just five minutes thanks to an easy safety checklist; high-precision vertical take-off and landing, and hands-free automated flight.
With a new adaptive speed feature that optimizes for efficiency and accuracy, WingtraRAY is a faster drone than its predecessor. It’s also around three to ten times faster than multirotors, depending on the application. And when it lands, ground control and flight data sync in WingtraCLOUD for smooth processing in a pre-set coordinate system of your choice for the site.
Just one platform for a wide range of survey jobs. WingtraRAY plugs two new payloads into an efficient workflow. And beyond just getting survey insights efficiently, it empowers surveyors to get them more often. Why? Because the troubleshooting and expertise bottleneck is removed. Surveyors of any experience level can swap any of WingtraRAY’s six payloads in and in a half a day get results like: LIDAR digital terrain models for site planning in vegetated area, millimeter-resolution airport crack detection at scale, frequent digital surface models for cut and fill analysis or cadaster at scale in urban environments.
WingtraRAY flying with the new INSPECT payload can capture 100 acres at 1/10th of an inch 2.5 mm) resolution from 200 ft 60 m) AGL in an hour—that’s enough to cover a small airport in a single mission. Compare this to a multirotor that has to fly lower and slower for the same level of detail—i.e., more flights and hours of time shutting down an active runway. Plus, US airport and government infrastructure jobs are fast-track approved with WingtraRAY on the Blue UAS Cleared list.
From safe aerial survey operations to better margins, get peace of mind on every level.
When surveyors fly drones, they face risks. WingtraRAY addresses all of them. First, the parachute add-on makes it safe and legal to fly over roads and populated areas without risk.
And obstacle avoidance cuts risk even more. A backup battery system also ensures consistent return to home. Beyond this, surveyors will fly with the confidence that the data they capture is repeatable and accurate so they don’t need to return to the field.
“We can talk all day about the impressive new features of WingtraRAY,” said Maximilian Boosfeld, CEO at Wingtra. “Yet we’ve learned that our survey customers care about results that solve their problems and fast return on their investment. They also need a solution that’s easy and safe for all of their pilots. With WingtraRAY, we offer these things in one cost-effective system that provides efficient analytics and GIS service deliverables. We’re happy to promote the scaling of aerial insights as more and more surveyors work confidently with a system that empowers them to do more in less time.”
WingtraRAY will be publicly available in selected countries starting July 10, 2025, with a global rollout to follow in October 2025.
For more information about Wingtra and WingtraRAY, visit wingtra.com/wingtraray
About Wingtra
Wingtra is a leading aerial insights company for mapping and surveying applications.
Founded in Switzerland in 2017, it developed the only drone solution built specifically for surveyors
that covers the entire workflow. From easy flight planning to CAD- and GIS-ready outputs,
surveyors walk through guided and connected steps. No more switching tools or guesswork. The
result? Survey-grade results in hours—not days. In fact, today, large, renowned companies,
government agencies and universities around the world turn to Wingtra for trusted data, no
rework, and a more cost-effective way to survey
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While professionals across sectors from construction to agriculture are already using drones to improve project outcomes and reduce overhead, researchers work in the background to test and prove the difference drones make, quantitatively. Indeed, research is absolutely vital to promoting the application of drone data across a wide range of sectors. So Wingtra is thrilled to partner with the CSU Drone Center, which helps its researchers get the equipment, qualified pilots and permissions to conduct their studies.
Research into infrastructure maintenance, air quality and other impactful areas has already been bolstered by the center. So with this integration of the Wingtra platform, the partners see a future of efficient and high-quality data capture bringing all of it to the next level.
Learn more about Colorado State University’s drone center, here: https://www.research.colostate.edu/csudronecenter/
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So what’s the difference between these two payloads, and how do you choose between them given your drone needs right now? We’ve run test flights and will now share these as well as key insights to help you choose the best option.
Sony a6100: good coverage, lighter on the data, high accuracy and versatile
For several reasons, the a6100 is considered an entry-level option. Among these are its lower price tag and lighter data capture load for a given area. These factors alone make it a dependable payload to start working with on a wide range of projects. In fact, flying it at 120 m (394 ft) above ground level (AGL), your average accuracy will be about 2.4 cm (0.9 in), a resolution that satisfies applications where a good amount of detail is required. A few examples include: site planning, mine restoration, oil spill monitoring, landfill projects, natural disaster damage assessment and more.*
Additionally, its 20 mm lens provides a wide angle for image capture that results in the broadest coverage possible at a limited altitude—240 ha (600 ac) at 120 m AGL. The data is rich enough to examine key features in an area, yet still lightweight for processing.
*The a6100 is a step forward in terms of resolution (up to 24 MP from 20 MP) from Wingtra’s previous entry-level RGB solution, the QX1 payload, which has already demonstrated success on project use cases (linked and catalogued by type and payload on our use case page).
Explore the datasets yourself
Zoom anywhere on the orthomosaic, and slide the slider to explore the resolution difference between the a6100 and the RX1R II at 120 m (393 ft). Or download the raw data.Open Raw data
Sony RX1R II: highest resolution and accuracy, and exacting details for precise analysis
Although a bit more expensive, the Sony RX1R II is a best seller for several key reasons. You can fly at a GSD down to 0.7 cm (0.3 in), and at a standard mapping height of 120 m (394 ft) AGL, you can capture at an average GSD of 1.6 cm (0.6 in). The resolution difference is most noticeable when zooming in and out of orthomosaics. You can explore this in the orthomosaic module above. Coverage with the full-frame 35 mm lens setup is still robust at this flight altitude—210 ha (520 ac).
As for what applications it serves best, it helps to consider that the accuracy available with the RX1R II will make a marked difference in volume measurements, since cubed cms/ins add up fast. This will be especially important when measuring assets on a mine, earthworks, and generally comparing contractor details with mapped evidence. Beyond this, any application benefiting from the ability to view fine details on demand will surely benefit.
A close-up view of a construction site offers a glimpse of the resolution difference between the Sony RX1R II and a6100.
At a glance: differences between the RX1R II and a6100
| Sony a6100 | Sony RX1R II |
|---|---|
| 20 mm wide-angle lens means larger coverage for flight time at 120 m | 35 mm lens plus full frame, means only slightly less coverage than the a6100 at 120m (393 ft) and the highest coverage and efficiency for this resolution* |
| Economical | Best seller, slightly higher cost |
| Good resolution | Exacting resolution |
| Less data | More data |
| Applications Solar field construction Landfill projects Oil spill monitoring Mine restoration |
Applications Exact volumes (i.e., mining, contract reconciliation) Fine details Road surveys |
*With the RX1R II, you can fly at 180 m (590 ft) AGL to get the same resolution as the a6100 and cover a larger area, 330 ha (815 ac) specifically.
So which one should you go for?
Both the a6100 and the RX1R II provide leading quality for your photogrammetry needs. However, if you are on a budget and still ramping up your program to process big datasets, starting out with the a6100 will still get your jobs done right. As you get skilled with this payload—in terms of data capture, processing and analytics—an upgrade to the RX1R II will bring you more sophisticated results and a more robust basis for calculations, comparisons and monitoring of fine details.
Specs
| Sony a6100 | Sony RX1R II | |
|---|---|---|
| Lens | 20 mm lens | 35 mm lens |
| Technical specifications | APS-C sensor, 24 MP, RGB | Full-frame sensor, 42 MP, RGB |
| Camera weight (incl. mount) |
550 g (1.2 lb) | 590 g (1.3 lb) |
| Lowest possible GSD | 1.2 cm at 61 m 0.4 in at 170 ft |
0.7 cm at 52 m 0.3 in at 186 ft |
| Maximum coverage at 120 m (400 ft) at 60% side overlap |
Up to 240 ha (600 ac) at 2.4 cm (0.9 in) GSD | Up to 210 ha (520 ac) at 1.6 cm (0.6 in) GSD |
| Maximum coverage at 3 cm (1.2 in) GSD at 60% side overlap |
Up to 300 ha (741 ac) at 153m (502 ft) | Up to 400 ha (990 ac) at 224 m (734 ft) |
| Best horizontal absolute accuracy (RMS) with PPK (w/o GCPs) |
Down to 2 cm (0.8 in) | Down to 1 cm (0.4 in) |
| Best vertical absolute accuracy (RMS) with PPK (w/o GCPs) |
Down to 4 cm (1.6 in) | Down to 3 cm (1.2 in) |
| Max flight time | 54 min | 54 min |
Running a drone program is not just about flying drones and processing data, there are many other factors. These quickly become overwhelming to manage when companies fold more drones and pilots into their operations. That’s why Wingtra has optimized its data to work with the DroneLogbook drone management platform. DroneLogbook is a comprehensive suite that offers executives an intuitive view of compliance and custom reports; documentation, mission planning, drone inspections, personnel, and more.
“Wingtra has equipped many professionals across industries with a solution that provides them with large-scale mapping outputs and the means to tackle jobs competitively,” said Julian Surber, Product Manager at Wingtra. “Because of this, many customers are now investing in fleets of our drones, so we need to make sure they enjoy intuitive, professional operations that support their businesses. DroneLogbook has demonstrated it can do this.”
DroneLogbook runs on the Amazon cloud, so it’s built on known infrastructure and supports hundreds of large companies across multiple industries, including Swiss Federal Railways, numerous global mining energy, and civil engineering firms.
“Customers love our solution because it automates a lot of processes that can be time-consuming in the field,” said Yves Jusot, Managing Parter at DroneLogbook. “This key integration with Wingtra shortens the time required for compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing operations overhead to a minimum. This maximizes visibility across, and ROI coming back from drone data programs.”
To learn more about DroneLogbook, visit their website at: www.dronelogbook.com.
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