Airware, from Newport Beach, California, aims to give commercial companies an easy-to-use development platform that will get their purpose-built UAS up and flying in no time. Airware’s platform comprises both on-board hardware and software, according to founder Jonathan Downey.
It also features elements that all UAS need: inertial navigation systems, flight control algorithms, and ground station control software.
By taking care of these necessary elements, Airware hopes to free up its customers to work on their higher-level applications without getting bogged down in reinventing the wheel.
That means, Downey explained, that Airware’s customers can use the company’s development tools to design custom applications for specific uses, such as infrastructure inspections, search and rescue, or anti-poaching surveillance.
According to Downey, many of the company’s customers make their own UAS and then integrate Airware’s technology. In some cases, Airware will suggest a UAS maker to a customer that is uninterested or unable to build its own.
Downey said Airware’s technology works on a wide range of UAS platforms, from helicopters to multi-rotor and fixed-wing aircraft. However, it is not meant for the hobbyist market.
Once in flight, Airware’s system can communicate with the ground for up to 60 kilometers, so long as it remains in line of sight, using a dedicated radio frequency (RF) link.
Today, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is still determining rules that will govern control of small UAS. As a result, most of Airware’s customers are international. But clearly the company hopes that it will be able to work with a wide range of American customers in the near future. Airware already has more than $200,000 in orders from 20 customers in 10 countries, and it is on pace to bring in $4 million in revenues this year, the company reports.
Source: c|net