Israeli based Airobotics recently announced a comprehensive commercial drone hardware and software solution to meet a number of industrial needs. The solution was specifically developed for industrial applications. Features include:
- a drone (the Optimus) can be flown autonomously
- can swap out payloads and batteries automatically for continuous operation
- is constructed of corrosion resistant and waterproof materials
- software that can be accessed anywhere and anytime for a) programming, controlling and managing missions in one click, and b) processing aerial data and producing reports
The solution can be tailored for mining, industrial facilities, and oil and gas operations. The drone can autonomously perform inspections (detect gas leaks,monitor equipment), provide surveillance (emergency response, intruder alerts) and incident investigation.
One compelling feature of the solution is the drone port that enables swapping of batteries (which alllow for ~30 mins of flight) and exchange of payloads.
The firm also announced raising $28.5 million in a combined Series A & B rounds of funding. The A round was led by BlueRun Ventures and the B by CRV. Israel Chief Scientists, UpWest Labs, Waze CEO Noam Bardin, and Google ATAP COO Richard Wooldridge also contributed. So far the company, founded by Ran Krauss (now CEO) and Meir Kliner (VP of R&D), has 70 employees.
Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
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On the surface this looks very “cool” but how practical is this really?
1. FAA still requires Operators and VLOS for all US flights, the idea of launching UAV’s remotely still is not in the FAA’s playbook. Who is the user for such a system?
2. The unit is ideal for remote locations, but where does the power come from?
3. Weather, rain, snow, cold, heat….rodents, continual battery servicing/replacement. Who will service these units?
4. What if the UAV misses the target due to wind…who drives out to set it back up?
5. Data transfer, this is great for remote locations, with the exception of not having a way other than cost prohibitive satellites to transfer data.
6. Using the system locally or remotely, theft and vandalism would be a major risk.
Good idea in theory…..don’t believe it to be very practical.