ELYTRA / EVT-01 — SEMI-BUOYANT CAMERA PLATFORM

Aerial coverage.
Without the noise.

Elytra builds helium-assisted camera drones for quiet, crowd-safe sports filming and live broadcast.

FIG. 01 — PREVISUALIZATION
SIDELINE / END ZONE

SCROLL

01 — THE PLATFORM

EVT-01 / SEC. 01

Sports coverage from above,
without putting a helicopter over the crowd.

Elytra combines buoyant flight, low-noise propulsion, autonomous navigation, and stabilized imaging into a new aerial platform designed specifically for live sports.

Every aerial camera at a stadium today makes a trade. Helicopters bring the view, along with the noise, the cost and the crew. Small drones bring flexibility, but operating them safely over people is difficult. Elytra starts from a different premise: a helium envelope carries part of the system’s weight, so the independent camera drone tethered below it can be built around a larger, stabilized camera. Everything else can be designed around being quiet, predictable and close to the action.

THE ELYTRA PLATFORM

ELYTRA / EVT-01

Built to stay in the air.
Built to stay out of the way.

  1. 01HELIUM ENVELOPEBuoyant lift
  2. 02UPPER PROPULSIONPosition control
  3. 03TETHER WINCHVariable separation
  4. 04INDEPENDENT CAMERA DRONESelf-powered multirotor
  5. 05STABILIZED CAMERALarger imaging payload

FIG. 04 — EVT-01, 3/4 FRONT · CONCEPT CAD

LAYER VIEW — EVT-01

One system.
Two separate flight units.

  1. 01System

    A helium envelope above a separate camera drone, joined by a single tether.

  2. 02Upper unit

    The envelope offsets part of the system’s weight. Compact electric thrusters beneath it handle position control.

  3. 03Winch & tether

    A motorized winch in the upper unit sets the tether length, and with it the separation between the two units.

  4. 04Camera drone

    A complete multirotor with its own motors, battery, flight controller and navigation.

  5. 05Camera

    A multi-axis stabilized gimbal carries a larger, broadcast-oriented camera.

02 — THE PROBLEM

EVT-01 / SEC. 02

The best view of the game is often the hardest one to get.

Helicopter flying over a packed football stadium

01

HELICOPTERS

Expensive. Loud. Operationally complex.

Broadcast camera operator on a raised stadium camera platform

02

FIXED CAMERAS

Great positions. Limited perspectives.

Quadcopter camera drone hovering above stadium stands

03

SMALL DRONES

Flexible. But difficult to operate safely over crowds.

We built something different.

WHY HELIUM

Buoyancy changes the equation.

  1. Helium offsets part of the load.
  2. Propulsion provides control.
  3. Autonomy manages position.
  4. The camera drone keeps its own flight hardware and is designed to carry a larger camera.
ENVELOPE / BUOYANT LIFT UPPER PROPULSION TETHER WINCH DRONE BATTERY DRONE MOTORS ×4 3-AXIS CAMERA GIMBAL

FIG. 07 — EXPLODED VIEW, TWO-UNIT SYSTEM · CONCEPT CAD

QUIET FLIGHT

EVT-01 / SEC. 03

The broadcast should hear the game.
Not the aircraft.

FIG. 08 — UPPER PROPULSION UNIT · CONCEPT CAD

  1. 01Acoustic signature
  2. 02Propulsion architecture
  3. 03Flight profile
  4. 04Aircraft positioning

Quiet is designed in from the start, not added at the end. Because the helium envelope offsets part of the system’s weight, less of the propulsion’s work goes into simply staying up. That shapes how the motors, propellers and ducts are designed, how the system flies, and where it sits relative to the field and the microphones.

ACOUSTIC DATAMeasured results will be published here once testing is complete.

CROWD SAFETY

EVT-01 / SEC. 04

Designed for the stadium environment.

Stadium operations plan: field, stands, flight volume, restricted zones, takeoff and landing zone, operator location and emergency behavior. FLIGHT VOLUME — CEILING SET PER VENUE SEATING BOWL — RESTRICTED T/L ZONE OPS FIELD OF PLAY 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
  1. 01Field
  2. 02Stands
  3. 03Flight volume Bounded per venue
  4. 04Restricted zones Configured per venue
  5. 05Takeoff / landing zone
  6. 06Operator location
  7. 07Emergency behavior Hold, return, or descend to a designated zone

Safety is part of the aircraft architecture.

  • Geofencing
  • Redundant control
  • Monitored flight envelope
  • Controlled propulsion
  • Fail-safe behavior
  • Human supervision
  • Emergency landing / termination procedures

STATUSThese are the safety systems being designed into the aircraft. They are in development, not certified. We will publish capabilities, test results and regulatory approvals as each is validated.

THE CAMERA

EVT-01 / SEC. 05

See the game from somewhere new.

[PLACEHOLDER — cinematic still from Elytra camera feed]

An additional aerial angle cut directly into the live program feed.

FIG. 10 — CAMERA DRONE AND GIMBAL · CONCEPT CAD

STABILIZED CAMERA

The camera rides on its own multirotor drone, not on the balloon. A multi-axis gimbal isolates a larger, broadcast-oriented camera from the drone’s motion.

BUILT FOR THE GAME

EVT-01 / SEC. 06

One platform.
A new camera position.

[RENDER — wide aerial, live game]

GAME DAY

Live aerial coverage.

[RENDER — overhead replay angle]

REPLAY

Unique overhead angles.

[RENDER — end zone angle]

STREAMING

Direct integration into digital broadcasts.

[RENDER — aircraft on station]

PRODUCTION

Additional camera without adding another aircraft crew.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

EVT-01 / SEC. 07

Starting on Saturdays.

College football is where we begin.

[PHOTO — college football stadium, establishing shot]
  • 01FULL-STADIUM COVERAGE
  • 02AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING
  • 03LIVE BROADCAST

Built for college football.
Designed for every field that follows.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

EVT-01 / SEC. 08

How it works.

  1. 01

    LIFT

    Helium envelope

  2. 02

    CONTROL

    Upper propulsion

  3. 03

    TETHER

    Motorized winch

  4. 04

    FLIGHT

    Independent drone, own power

  5. 05

    AUTONOMY

    Navigation + flight control

  6. 06

    IMAGING

    Stabilized camera

  7. 07

    BROADCAST

    Live video

PROOF OF WORK

EVT-01 / SEC. 09

Designed. Built. Tested.

[REAL CAD SCREENSHOT]
FIG. 09.1 — CAD
[REAL PROTOTYPE PHOTO]
FIG. 09.2 — PROTOTYPE
[ELECTRONICS BENCH]
FIG. 09.3 — ELECTRONICS
[CARBON FIBER PART]
FIG. 09.4 — COMPOSITES
[3D PRINT]
FIG. 09.5 — ADDITIVE
[FLIGHT TEST]
FIG. 09.6 — FLIGHT TEST
[TEAM PHOTO]
FIG. 09.7 — TEAM

DEVELOPMENT

EVT-01 / SEC. 10

From prototype to stadium.

  1. 01

    CONCEPT

    [PHOTO]
  2. 02

    FIRST FLIGHT

    [PHOTO]
  3. 03

    CAMERA TESTING

    [PHOTO]
  4. 04

    AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT

    [PHOTO]
  5. 05

    LIVE BROADCAST

    [PHOTO]
  6. 06

    STADIUM PILOT

    [PHOTO]
  7. 07

    PRODUCTION

    [PHOTO]

The future of sports coverage isn’t higher.

It’s closer.

CONTACT / PARTNERS

EVT-01 / SEC. 11

Bring Elytra to your stadium.

  • Teams
  • Broadcasters
  • Production companies
  • Technology partners
Start a conversation hello@elytra.systems