American Robotics to Acquire Airobotics, Autonomous Drones

American Robotics Announces Intent to Acquire Airobotics

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M Crosby

Ondas Holdings Inc., the parent company of Ondas Networks and American Robotics, announced that it has signed a term sheet to acquire leading Israeli unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developer Airobotics.

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The acquisition of Airobotics would aid in the advancement of American Robotics’ technical development and regulatory roadmap, as well as expand the breadth of applications, use cases and vertical markets AR targets.

“Airobotics’ Optimus System is a sophisticated automated drone platform designed for high- value use cases in industrial, homeland security and smart city services markets,” said Ondas Chairman and CEO Eric Brock. “The proposed acquisition of Airobotics will provide strategic technology, regulatory, and business capabilities to both American Robotics and Ondas Networks, opening new geographies and end markets and further strengthening our ability to deliver complete end-to-end solutions for customers on a global scale. This opportunity demonstrates the leadership role Ondas Networks and American Robotics currently have in defining next-generation, mission-critical industrial data solutions and signals a new growth phase for the commercial drone sector.”

“We look forward to joining the Ondas family and the American Robotics team,” said Airobotics CEO and Co-Founder Meir Kliner. “Ondas Networks has demonstrated market leadership in the development of their wireless and automated industrial technology platforms, and American Robotics has pioneered fully automated drone operation through its precedent-setting FAA beyond visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) approvals. This combination will offer Airobotics the opportunity to expand globally, especially in the United States, which we believe is the largest market for our Optimus System. The technologies and talented people at Ondas Networks and AR will strengthen our systems and services, improving our ability to participate in the scaling of the commercial drone economy.”

Airobotics is the developer of the Optimus System, a leading autonomous drone-in-a-box UAS platform with applications in industrial, homeland security, and smart city services markets. The Optimus System consists of the Optimus Drone and the Optimus Airbase, which features robotic battery swapping and robotic payload swapping. These features enable the system to provide near-continuous flight time and multi-option imaging capabilities. The Optimus System also features the Insightful Data Platform, an automated data distribution and processing software, and provides customers an enterprise level automated data capture and analysis solution, including real time video, and can operate autonomously 24/7.

With an active customer base in the United States, Israel, Singapore, and the UAE, as well as the potential to expand into additional international markets, Airobotics is in the final stages of acquiring a first-of-its-kind Type Certificate from the FAA for its Optimus System. The FAA has published the system’s safety criteria, which will allow Airobotics to complete its certification, enabling the automation of all phases of flight including swapping batteries and payloads and eventually permitting operation over cities and other populated areas.

American Robotics and Airobotics are both recognized as leading developers of automated drone platforms in their respective markets. Merging the two companies will combine their respective areas of expertise, enabling a wider range of solutions and services, as well as the ability to reach a larger scale of markets and applications.

Read more about American Robotics and Airobotics:

• American Robotics Reese Mozer on the Many Types of BVLOS Flight: EVLOS, True BVLOS, Automated, and More
• American Robotics and Railway Inspection: Leveraging Their Automated Drone Platform and Advanced Analytics Software
• American Robotics CEO Reflects One Year After Receiving First FAA Approval for Autonomous Flight
• Automated Security Drones: Airobotics Takes Flight Over Singapore
• Truly Automated Drones are Still Ground-Breaking: WEF Names Airobotics One of the World Tech Pioneers

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.