Drones are becoming increasingly important for watching the railroad.
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Ondas Holdings Inc. (Ondas), developer of its own software-based wireless broadband technology, acquired American Robotics, Inc.
Developer of highly automated commercial systems for unmanned aerial vehicles and the first company approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate its drones outside the line of sight (BVLOS) without a human operator on site.
“The combination of the two companies will enable Ondas Networks and American Robotics to provide consumers in the rail, agricultural, utilities and critical infrastructure markets with improved connectivity and data collection capabilities,” Ondas said. “We received huge support from our shareholders with approximately 99.7% of the votes in favor of the acquisition.”
American Robotics “combines best-in-class IP, a robot-as-a-service (RaaS) model, and its historic FAA approval to provide an industrial drone service capable of unlocking the $ 100 billion commercial drone market,” Ondas said. “Unlike other drone technologies, American Robotics’ Scout System” provides an unparalleled level of autonomy, safety and analysis with its industrial design and advanced AI-powered software. Scout System ™ is the best solution for data collection and processing at the end of industrial field networks, which can be integrated into a critical wireless network powered by Ondas’ FullMAX technology. American Robotics’ highly automated drones can perform up to 20 automated flights a day without a single pilot or visual observer on the ground.
In April 2021, Ondas provided a $ 2 million loan to American Robotics to begin expanding its customer support and sales organization, using the January 2021 FAA approval for automated drones. In the six months since receiving FAA approval, American Robotics has increased business development in key industrial sectors by 80%. Ondas said he would “support this continued growth through the continuous advancement and development of American Robotics technology. Also, this acquisition will enable American Robotics to gain access to Ondas’ industrial customers and global distribution partners. “
Akerman LLP serves as legal counsel for Ondas and LLP Hogan Lovells acted as legal counsel for American Robotics. The FAA has previously allowed drones to inspect railway tracks, pipelines and certain industrial sites out of sight of pilots or ground observers, as long as such persons are relatively close. But in January, the FAA gave American Robotics permission to fly in U.S. airspace under BVLOS, according to Hogan Lovells partner Lisa Ellman, who manages the practice of her company’s unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAS), represents American Robotics, and is also the co-founder and CEO of Trade Union of Drones, industrial trade group.
Ondas Holdings Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ondas Networks Inc., is a developer of its own software-based wireless broadband technology for large established and emerging industrial markets. The company says its “standards-based, multi-patented, software-defined FullMAX radio allows MC-IoT applications by overcoming the bandwidth limitations of today’s legacy private licensed wireless networks.” Ondas Networks’ end customers include railways, utilities, oil and gas, transportation, aviation (including drone operators) and government organizations whose requirements cover a wide range of critical applications. These markets require reliable, secure broadband communication in large and diverse geographical areas, many of which are in challenging radio frequency environments. Customers use our FullMAX technology to deploy their own privately licensed broadband wireless networks. We also offer critical facilities the ability to manage a network service. Ondas Networks’ FullMAX technology supports IEEE 802.16s, the new global standard for privately licensed industrial networks in a wide range. ”
American robotics, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ondas, “is a company focused on the design, development and marketing of industrial drone solutions for healthy, real environments. The AR Scout System is a highly automated, AI-powered, unmanned aerial vehicle system capable of continuous, remote operation and is marketed as a turnkey Drone in a Box data transmission service on a RAAS business model. Scout System ™ is the first drone system approved by the FAA for automated BVLOS. AR was founded by leading robots from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford with a shared vision to bring robotic technology from the laboratory to the real world to solve global problems.