Aerial Information Platform's Flight Core onboard hardware and software integration that enables autonomous flight. Photo: Airware.

Tower inspection using a drone powered by Airware. Photo: Airware.

Powered by Airware mark on an Aerial Information Platform integrated system. Photo: Airware.

by AUVSI News 

Airware unveiled its Aerial Information Platform, an operating system for commercial drones that combines hardware, software and cloud services to enable operators to integrate drones at scale; comply with regulatory and insurance requirements; and rapidly develop industry-specific solutions. 



AIP will provide commercial drone operators the ability to capture and analyze aerial data with intuitive fleet management, user authentication, data management and workflow integration with existing business systems such as enterprise resource planning, geographic information systems and asset management.



The platform requires minimal training and attempts to create a comprehensive solution for businesses to flexibly integrate a variety of compatible aircraft with an ecosystem of third-party sensors, cameras, software apps and data analysis tools.



“Commercial drones will change the way we do our jobs, improve our decision making and save lives,” says Airware Founder and CEO Jonathan Downey. “We designed the Aerial Information Platform for enterprise needs and created the most reliable, insurable and extensible solution for operating commercial drones at scale.”



The company released the first three components of AIP with a fourth, Airware Cloud, which will allow operators to fly at a greater scale, manage approvals and share data across the organization, to be released in the coming months. AIP’s Flight Core includes onboard hardware that enables autonomous flight, geofencing and contingency management features. Its Ground Control Station Software allows for aircraft flight planning, control and monitoring. The Configuration Manager software provides quick configuration of Airware and third-party hardware and software to expand application capabilities.



GE will become Airware’s first large enterprise customer.



“We are currently developing drone solutions for our customers,” says GE Ventures Managing Director Alex Tepper. “Drones have the ability to reduce downtime, increase safety and provide more reliable operations for our customers, and we believe that Airware is going to be a key partner in helping us deliver these solutions.”



The AIP platform being released today to additional qualified drone manufacturers and service providers has been in use in a beta program by other companies around the world including Delta Drone in France, Altavian in Florida, Allied Drones in California and Drone America in Nevada.



“We have been testing Airware’s product for a variety of applications in France, including mining surveys, precision agriculture, industrial inspection and forestry,” says Christian F. Viguié, chairman and CEO of Delta Drone. “Airware provides the market with a full spectrum of products that bring real added value to our systems and enables us to develop new services to fulfill our customers’ needs. They are building a powerful ecosystem that unties this growing market.”



This summer, Airware App Core will enable further customization by providing a rich software development kit for others to create commercial drone apps to connect with AIP. App Core will improve image processing, advanced path planning, vision-based navigation and obstacle avoidance, real-time decision making and hardware compatibility, enabling integration of lidar, multispectral cameras, thermal sensors, still and video cameras, gimbals and more, according to a company press release.



AIP is available on a subscription-based model designed to align with revenue generation capabilities. The service includes hardware, software, cloud services and support.

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