Aquiline Drones Creates Streamlined Drone Ordering System for Consumer & Commercial Drone Services.
Three years ago when Barry Alexander first brainstormed the idea of creating an Uber-like app for everyday civilians and businesses alike to order drone services, the global economy was running smoothly. The stock markets were booming, domestic unemployment was virtually non-existent, and the US drone industry was growing at a rapid rate. Fast forward to 2022 and the picture looks much different. America is still managing the damaging delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken its toll on all industries, including the commercial drone sector. But signs of positive changes abound.
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the Connecticut-based drone services provider, Aquiline Drones Corporation (AD), announced that it has finally launched an introductory version of the original app that aims to disrupt and revolutionize the way business owners and consumers access and utilize drone services. Akin to Uber and Lyft, the Aquiline Drone-on-Demand (ADoD) app is now available for downloads on all mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets through Google Play Store and Apple IOS.
Here’s how it works:
- Users download the ADoD app from Google Play Store or Apple IOS.
- They are prompted to set-up a user profile.
- A list of available drone services for both consumer and business use is displayed.
- Users can order their specific drone service for personal or commercial use.
- The job request is vetted for legality and practicality, then matched with a certified and trained drone service provider (DSP), the majority of whom are graduates of Aquiline’s Flight-to-the-Future drone pilot training academy. These DSPs live in the vicinity of the customer’s location and are able to perform the service. With this beta launch, customers can get their requests completed within 30 days. Over time, the period from job request to execution will be significantly shortened to become true ‘on-demand.’
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“When our drone-on-demand app was first conceptualized, it was with the understanding that the UAV regulatory environment would allow for scalability and mass adoption of drone delivery services,” said Alexander. “Unfortunately, the drone industry was hard hit by the pandemic, which caused production delays, personnel layoffs and supply chain issues. As career aviators, we are used to operating in turbulent climates – even economic ones- and thus decided to pivot our drone-on-demand app accordingly.”
Specifically, Alexander notes that a major task originally planned for the ADoD app was drone delivery services for light packages, medicines and prescriptions, even human organs and tissues. However, the airspace, as regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has not yet approved this activity through the creation of the necessary flyways and channels required to fulfill it.
“As we have seen from the recent closing of both the Verizon Skyward and Amazon Prime Air drone delivery business lines, no one can predict how long this approval process will take,” adds Alexander.
Besides the pandemic, Alexander points out that there are still many public misconceptions about drones regarding privacy, thus creating further delays in broader acceptance of the technology. Commercial drones that are supported by an artificial intelligence (AI) platform can perform a wide array of activities in ways that are safer, more efficient and more cost effective. AD has already built a platform for such applications.
Alexander highlights that the new ADoD app takes a “crawl-walk-run approach”, and readily offers many semi-autonomous operations that don’t involve surveillance or raise privacy concerns from consumers. For example, some of the available services on the ADoD app for businesses and consumers, include:
- Utilities inspections, including, for example, power lines, pipelines and wind turbines.
- Heavy assets inspections, including for example, bridges, tunnels, construction sites and railroad tracks.
- Consumer services including rooftop inspections, aerial photography and videography.
- Agriculture services, such as seeding, spraying and hydrating crops and other precision farming activities.
- Spray washing buildings, solar panels, homes, roofs and gutters.
- Fumigation of mosquitoes, bugs and other pests around homes and buildings.
- Tracking wildlife, beach patrol, and other natural environments.
- Sanitation of stadiums, concert halls and other outdoor, wide area, public facilities
- Aerial photography and videography for weddings, real estate and marketing purposes
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“This is truly the tip of the iceberg as more B2B, B2C and even Business to Industry (B2I) activities are realized,” said Alexander. “In fact, we plan on using the app to learn what the demand is for certain drone activities and where those requests are originating so that we can identify and mobilize our tech and personnel resources i.e., specialized drone services providers, to complete the particular missions.”
As such, Alexander notes that one of the main functions of the ADoD app is to aggregate job requests, which then stimulates the drone employment market where people can get into drone services as a career. “Essentially, we are creating both a demand for emerging drone services, as well as a supply of drone operators to fulfill them, thus fostering a powerful workforce development cycle,” adds Alexander.
In fact, AD’s proprietary Flight to the Future program (F2F) was launched during the pandemic as an employment opportunity for those interested in becoming certified drone pilots and individual business owners. Within six months, students of the online, interactive program learn how to utilize drone and cloud technology safely and effectively – embedded with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in daily missions. Besides earning their FAA Part 107 commercial drone pilot certification, F2F program participants are immersed in cloud computing, AI, the Internet of Things (IoT) and other technologies transforming the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry. Instructor guided one-on-one flight training and industry specialization culminates the course.
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