Powering Drones for the Enterprise
In 2011, we had a big idea: enable drones to be used by the enterprise.
At that time, drones were predominantly associated with the military and with hobbyist remote control clubs, but we envisioned commercial drones impacting industries, globally. We knew that drone technology would enable companies to capture data from a new perspective and get people out of harm’s way. Instead of grabbing a ladder, we wanted workers to grab a drone: more efficient, better data, safer.
As drones have become a global fascination, businesses have struggled with how to incorporate them into existing data collection and management paradigms. Military platforms are prohibitively expensive and can’t be customized for businesses; open-source hobbyist platforms, while customizable, are neither reliable nor scalable enough. We realized the only way to become a catalyst for businesses is to leverage aerial information to create a flexible platform for the enterprise from the ground up.
So we set out to build an operating system for commercial drones.
As we began to share this dream with potential investors and recruits, we quickly realized the road from big idea to reality would be paved with two major concerns:
- Big businesses would be reluctant to use drones
- Even if businesses wanted to leverage drones, the government would never allow it at meaningful scale
At Airware, addressing these concerns was our opportunity, and our team of engineers, developers, and specialists got to work. Eventually, investors recognized this significant gap in the market and came aboard. Today, I’m thrilled to say our team has successfully built a comprehensive platform to address unique enterprise needs, and the FAA is finally embracing the promise of commercial drones, effectively eliminating both of these major industry hurdles.
Making Commercial Drones a Reality
Today we launched the Airware Aerial Information Platform (AIP), which combines hardware, software, and cloud services to enable companies to quickly customize, efficiently manage, and safely operate commercial drones. Think of AIP’s relationship to drones as Windows relates to the PC: enabling standardization and application development. Airware’s AIP is the only operating system built to aerospace standards and designed to scale for the enterprise — offering autonomous flight, aircraft fleet management, data management, and integration with business systems.
Drones can now be used in almost every industry to capture data that was previously slow, inaccurate, costly, or dangerous to capture. Companies will glean insights into how infrastructure and systems are doing in the real world, like construction site assessment, crop health, and cell tower inspections, to name only a few.
We are honored to announce GE as Airware’s first enterprise customer. GE demonstrates that large multinational companies are enthusiastic both about commercial drones and working with Airware. We are in the field today with drone manufacturers from Nevada to France, whose various multirotors and fixed-wing aircraft are powered by Airware for everything from mining surveys and infrastructure inspection to search and rescue and wildlife conservation.
The Skies Are Now Open for Business
Coupled with the launch of the new platform, we’ve also welcomed positive news on the regulatory front. This month, the FAA announced a more flexible regulatory approach to streamline the issuance of Section 333 exemptions to commercial drone operators. In one week, the FAA issued 30 additional exemptions; a significant increase over the four approvals in the entire month of December, when approvals first started. The sky is officially opening up for commercial drone operations, today.
The FAA cares most about safety, and that continues to be our number one priority as well. Increasing software automation and standardized workflows (including planning, collection, and data analysis) via the Aerial Information Platform will lead to safe and repeatable operations, much like the cockpit automation advances, crew training, and enforced pilot workflows that dramatically improved safety for 20th-century commercial airlines. And while Section 333 exemptions are a fantastic step in the right direction, Airware will continue to proactively lead discussions directly with the FAA on further steps to open the skies, including feedback on the recently released UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
Today is an exciting milestone for Airware and the right moment for acceleration: for the market, for industries, and for partnering with significant companies in the space. Our unique team, products and approach are specially suited to enable enterprises to gather and distribute aerial data seamlessly and efficiently, like never before.
