Airware Releases Comprehensive Operating System for Commercial UAS

Airware CEO Jonathan Downey speaking at the launch of the
company's Aerial Information Platform.
Image Credit: Daniel Terdiman/VentureBea

Airware Releases Comprehensive Operating System for Commercial UAS

Airware has unveiled its Aerial Information Platform (AIP), an operating system for commercial drones that combines hardware, software and cloud services to enable enterprises to safely operate drones at scale, comply with regulatory and insurance requirements, and rapidly develop industry-specific drone solutions.

The Airware AIP will offer

• aircraft fleet management,
• user authentication,
• data management and
• the ability to integrate workflows and data with existing business systems, including
• enterprise resource planning (ERP),
• geographic information systems (GIS) and
• asset management.

The platform is marketed as intuitive and easy to use, requiring minimal training and enabling sophisticated autonomous flight with geofencing and contingency management features. The company is marketing the AIP for a number of commercial applications, including infrastructure inspection, land management, public safety, environmental monitoring, surveying and mapping, precision agriculture, search and rescue, and wildlife conservation.

Airware launches end-to-end hardware, software, and cloud platform for commercial drones | VentureBeat | Business | by Daniel Terdiman
PETALUMA, California — Companies across a wide range of industries, from mining to oil and gas exploration to surveying and mapping, could have an easier time than ever integrating drones into their businesses thanks to a new end-to-end hardware, software, and cloud services operating system for drones.
Known as the Aerial Information Platform, the system from San Francisco’s Airware is meant to give enterprises a clear path to using drones, regardless of the type of mission or level of expertise they have.
During a launch event at a farm in this sleepy Northern California town Tuesday, Airware and a group of its first customers explained how the platform could help make drones ubiquitous across the enterprise, in large part by standardizing the flight-control, sensor, and data-analysis tools that until now have only been available piecemeal from a variety of providers.

At launch today, the subscription-based system comprises Airware’s flight core: its autopilot system that runs the Airware flight software; its ground-control station tool, a Windows app for desktop computers or tablets that is used to plot flights and control drones; and its configuration manager software, which allows for quick tailoring of drone software and hardware.

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