In full transparency, the following press release and photo were provided to SOURCE media through its business translation service.
***
MARLBOROUGH – Ondas Holdings Inc., developer of its own software-based wireless broadband technology, announced this week that it has reached a final agreement to acquire American Robotics, a developer of fully automated commercial unmanned systems.
Marlborough-based American Robotics is the first and only FAA-approved company to operate its unmanned aerial vehicles (“BVLOS”) without a human operator on the ground.
This acquisition will integrate the technology platforms of the two companies and increase automation, data collection and artificial intelligence-driven analysis in industrial markets, allowing for improved maintenance, monitoring and operation of critical infrastructure.
Ondas acquires American Robotics for about $ 70.6 million.
The purchase price will be financed through a combination of cash and securities.
Previously, Ondas lent to American Robotics a total of $ 2 million on April 22, 2021.
The transaction is subject to the usual terms of completion, including approval by Ondas shareholders of securities to be issued to American Robotics shareholders. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
American Robotics brings together best-in-class IP, the Robot-as-a-Service business model, and its historic FAA approvals to provide an industrial unmanned aerial vehicle service capable of unlocking the $ 100 billion commercial unmanned aerial vehicle market . Unlike other drone technology, American Robotics’ Scout System provides an unparalleled level of autonomy, safety and analytics with its industrial design and advanced AI-powered software.
The digitalisation of the physical world enables those in the energy, agriculture and other industrial sectors to better see how their physical assets work, from railways to utilities and crops, and to better inform decision-making processes. to be more efficient and sustainable. Drones are a tool for better capture of this data in large field operations, and with American Robotics Ondas will provide users with the ability to collect and analyze data through continuous, automated operations with unmanned aerial vehicles.
“We are excited to introduce American Robotics to the Ondas Group,” said Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas. “Ultimately, the drone industry’s product is data, not planes. The drone is the best device for collecting data on critical operations, solving great pain for Ondas’ industrial and government customers and ecosystem partners. “The full stack of American Robotics’ IP portfolio is a complete system that allows Ondas to turn these pain points into growth opportunities fueled by richer data collection.”
American Robotics’ Scout System will be integrated into the Ondas FullMAX platform, a standards-based next-generation network solution designed to enable improved data communication for field operations. With Ondas FullMAX wireless technology integrated into the AR Scout System ™, Ondas customers and ecosystem partners can more widely deploy industrial drones for next-generation data requirements.
“This is the perfect time for American Robotics to join forces with Ondas as we bring Scout System to market and scale customer deployment,” added Reese Moser, co-founder and CEO of American Robotics. “Ondas’ deep experience and relationships in our target customer markets, in addition to next-generation industrial networking opportunities, will be extremely useful as we enter the major markets we are turning to. We are seeing significant customer demand and are ready to deliver impressive pipeline systems from industrial customers with blue chips in addition to new customer relationships through Ondas. “
Highlights of American robotics
Founded in 2016 by robotic professionals with academic experience and employment from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford with a shared vision to bring robotic technology out of the lab and into the real world to solve global challenges, the American Robotics team consists of expert engineers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and industry veterans. American Robotics has a high margin, recurring revenue business model Robot-as-a-Service with a deep range of customers in the industrial and agricultural markets.
The American Robotics Scout System is the first and only unmanned aerial vehicle system to receive FAA approval for autonomous flight. This gives the company a huge advantage for the first time to unlock the commercial drone market, overcoming the need for expensive visual observers to be on the ground during each drone flight. With people removed from the field and data processing on edge, users can achieve a 10X + reduction in data collection costs.
Scout System ™ is the best mobile application for data collection for operations in wide field areas in industrial, agricultural and government settings, as the drone resides as a mobile end device with high value in the deployment of the network of critical IoT (MC-IoT ).
The scout system consists of:
- Scout ™, fully autonomous drone with advanced payload for images;
- ScoutBase ™, a robust base station for housing, charging, data processing and cloud transfer; and
- ScoutView ™, American Robotics analysis and advanced software package.
Strategic rationale for combination
As leading innovators in next-generation markets, MC-IoT, Ondas and American Robotics provide enhanced data capabilities in critical infrastructure markets such as transportation, oil and gas and utilities, as well as security, agriculture, government and defense solutions. By combining these two platforms, users will have access to a fully integrated, fully industrial solution that makes full use of finite computing and sensor technology. American Robotics ‘scout system, equipped with Ondas’ FullMAX wireless technology, gives Ondas customers and partners ecosystems the ability to inspect and manage their large field operations and critical infrastructure.
***
Ondas Holdings Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ondas Networks Inc., is the developer of its own software-based wireless broadband technology for large established and emerging industrial markets. The standards-based multipatented, software-defined FullMAX radio platform enables MC-IoT applications by overcoming the bandwidth limitations of today’s legacy private licensed wireless networks. Ondas Networks’ customer markets include railways, utilities, oil and gas, transportation, aviation (including drone operators) and government entities whose requirements cover a wide range of critical applications.
American Robotics (AR) is a privately held company focused on the design, development and marketing of industrial solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles for a healthy real-world environment. AR’s Scout System ™ is a fully automated, artificial intelligence-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle system capable of continuous, unsupervised operation and is marketed as a “drone in a box” data management service within Robot-as-aa- Service (RAAS)) business model. Scout System ™ is the first and only unmanned aerial vehicle system approved by the FAA for Automated Out-of-Visibility Work (BVLOS) without people on site. AR was founded by leading robotic specialists from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford with a shared vision to bring robotic technology out of the lab and into the real world to meet the global challenge.s.