Verity Studios Has Performed Thousands of Flights Over People Safely. Now You Can Use Their Code.

Verity Studios AG, is a pioneer in autonomous drones – and in flight over people.  Verity Studios is the team behind spectacular drone shows at concerts, festivals and events like  Cirque du Soleil, Drake’s most recent tour, and Metallica concerts.  They have over 7,000 flights over people under their belts, and Verity thinks they’ve cracked the code – pun intended – to making those flights failsafe.

In fact, Failsafe is the name of the patented solution that Verity developed to ensure the safety of their audiences, and they’ve now launched an integration program.  This solution for quadcopters could be a key component in regularizing flight over people, and expanding the range of commercial drone applications.

“The patented Failsafe solution provides powerful and cost-effective safety enhancements to any consumer and commercial quadcopter drone platform,” says Verity Studios. “This program allows drone manufacturers to easily implement the Failsafe algorithm into their drones as a standalone or complementary safety solution to guard against the most common cause of system-error crashes: propulsion system failures.”

“While many technological innovations have been developed to improve the aircrafts’ operational safety, such as “return to home” features and automatic obstacle avoidance, the majority of technical failures today are caused by a failure in the propulsion system (i.e., the loss of a motor controller, a motor, or a propeller),” says Verity.  “This is a technological challenge that even the largest companies in the drone industry have not solved. Against conventional engineering analysis, the team at Verity has now proven the ability to safely control and land a quadrotor after a loss of one, or even two, of its propulsion systems with an algorithm-only solution.”

“…When a Failsafe-enabled drone has a propulsion system failure, instead of spinning out of control and crashing to the ground, the drone stays in the air, stabilizing itself using sophisticated algorithms. It can then be safely navigated to an appropriate landing location.”

The following is taken from a Verity Studios press release:

Verity’s Failsafe algorithm can be implemented into existing quadcopters flying in the air today through a simple firmware update. This code-based solution requires no additional hardware and adds no weight to the system, making it the lowest cost and highest efficiency risk-mitigation feature currently on the market. Led by robotics and AI expert Raffaello D’Andrea and originally developed to fly 2 lb. quadcopters on Broadway, the team at Verity has proven this technology in more than 7,000 flights over people. Verity is now offering its Failsafe algorithm to any drone manufacturer through custom integration. A reference design on PX4 with the Pixhawk autopilot is now available, simplifying the implementation process for drone manufacturers.

Verity’s industry-first technology is the most effective solution for safe and reliable flight without compromising on flight time and payload capacity. Increasing drone safety with Failsafe technology is a critical step in bringing about the future of autonomous drone inspections, drone delivery, air-taxis and the advancement of the overall drone industry.

Quotes:

“With more drones populating our skies every day, we feel a responsibility to make the safety measures we’ve created available to the industry at large. We are excited to see the impact as drone manufacturers adopt this critical safety measure.” Raffaello D’Andrea, CEO and founder of Verity Studios, Co-founder of Amazon Robotics

“I’ve seen enough drones from every major brand fall out of the sky due to a propulsion system failure to know that if we can solve this issue with a simple firmware update, drone manufacturers should be jumping at the opportunity to implement Verity’s Failsafe algorithm.” Colin Guinn, Founder of Guinn Partners, former CEO of DJI North America

“The failsafe technologies developed by Verity’s exceptional team were the main trigger for our investment. We are delighted and determined to support Verity in making this technology widely available.” Matthieu Repellin, Investment Partner, Airbus Ventures.

About Verity

Verity Studios is the global leader in indoor drone systems. Founded in 2014, the company has extensive experience in the creation of spectacular drone shows, providing unique performances for touring productions, resident shows, and one-off events. Verity’s drones have been used by some of the world’s biggest entertainment providers, including Cirque du Soleiland Madison Square Garden, and have performed on stage as part of global tours for major artists including Drake and Metallica. Verity has completed more than 100,000 autonomous flights safely above people, across more than 20 countries worldwide.