The trigger for the upcoming virtual summit, “Disruptive Women Powering Our Autonomous Future,” won’t likely make any history books, but it felt like a milestone – or at least an aha moment.
Pamela Gauci, events director for Velodyne Lidar, was reviewing the lineup for a panel discussion that was to be part of another event that the company hosts, an annual conference on safety and autonomous vehicles. With her was Sally Frykman, Velodyne Lidar’s chief marketing officer.
Neither the general topic of that other conference nor the specific topic designated for the panel – the regulatory road ahead – had anything to do with gender. Yet every expert on the list was a woman.
Business Solutions
Business Solutions
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2021 Will Be Held as Hybrid Event Series
Media Contact: Michael Wilbur, mwilbur@auvsi.org
For Immediate Release: February 9, 2021
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2021 Will Be Held as Hybrid Event Series
AeroVironment set to acquire Arcturus UAV
AeroVironment has entered into a definitive agreement that will result in the company acquiring Arcturus UAV for a total purchase price of $405 million, including $355 million in cash and $50 million in AeroVironment stock.
AeroVironment says that it expects the transaction to accelerate its strategy to drive profitable growth and value by expanding into attractive adjacent segments and by broadening its capabilities and customer footprint.
Draganfly awarded new patent for VTOL cargo delivery drone
Draganfly has been awarded a new patent for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo delivery drone with variable center of gravity.
According to Draganfly, the design is ideal for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, and for transporting goods in hard to reach areas or flight over people at night.
“With the signing of a signature customer and now this key industry patent we are confident in our role as an important global player in drone delivery space,” says Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly.
“This showcases Draganfly’s continued focus on IP and highlights the strength and innovation of our engineering team.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries acquires autonomy business of Spatial Integrated Systems
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is expanding its unmanned systems capabilities with a highly skilled team and proven USV solutions through its acquisition of the autonomy business of Spatial Integrated Systems Inc. (SIS), which HII announced on Monday, Jan. 4.
The transaction closed on Dec. 31, 2020 and approximately 50 employees from SIS, primarily located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, have joined HII Technical Solutions’ Unmanned Systems business group. HII broke ground on its new HII Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence in nearby Hampton, Virginia in Sept. 2020.
Iris Automation to use latest funding to improve Casia DAA system, continue participation in BEYOND program
Iris Automation has closed a successful round of $13 million in Series B venture capital funding.
Known for its Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) system, Casia, Iris Automation will use this latest investment for several initiatives, including to expand machine learning and AI capabilities and testing to improve and extend the Casia system’s performance envelope; to continue to improve detection and classification capabilities of the Casia system to support expanded use cases, operational environments and aircraft compatibility; and to build out fulfillment capabilities to produce, deliver and support the growing installed base of aircraft OEM partners and end use customers, and enter new markets associated with aircraft safety.
Plus expands strategic partnership with Full Truck Alliance
Self-driving truck tech company Plus (formerly Plus.ai) has announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Full Truck Alliance (FTA).
Through this partnership, the FAW J7+ truck will be available for sale on FTA’s platform, which will give Plus access to a sales channel that handled transactions for over 10 million truckers and five million shippers this year alone. Powered by the Plus automated driving system, the truck is going into mass production in 2021.
Plus and FTA will collaborate to help shippers in China reduce costs, improve safety and driver comfort, and increase efficiency.
AeroVironment acquires German ground robotic solutions developer Telerob
AeroVironment has acquired German ground robotic solutions developer Telerob Gesellschaft für Fernhantierungstechnik mbH.
Founded in 1994, Telerob, which is based near Stuttgart, Germany, offers advanced and comprehensive turn-key unmanned ground robotics solutions, including the telemax and tEODor EVO family of UGVs, fully-equipped transport vehicles and training, repair and support services. Some of the dangerous missions that Telerob’s solutions safely and effectively perform include explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), hazardous materials handling (HAZMAT) and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat assessment.
Auterion announces Cynthia Huang as its Vice President of Enterprise Business Development
On Tuesday, Dec. 8, Auterion announced the appointment of Cynthia Huang as the company's Vice President of Enterprise Business Development.
Considered one of the top executives in the drone industry, Huang, who comes from DJI, will lead the go-to-market strategy for Auterion’s suite of enterprise products. Huang will partner with enterprise customers in the utility, oil & gas, telco, and mining industries to provide the customization and flexibility available with Auterion’s platform and fast-growing ecosystem of manufacturers and independent software vendors.
Rapid Robotics, creator of ready-to-work robotic machine operator, announces $5.5M in seed funding
Rapid Robotics, creator of what it calls the first ready-to-work robotic machine operator, has announced $5.5M in seed funding.