Esri Announces New Security Enhancements Through Integration of US Government-Approved Drone and Cloud Deployment to the European Union

Global Users Facing Restrictions on Drone Hardware or Drone Data Now Have a Complete, End-to-End Solution for Planning, Executing, and Processing Data

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced two major capabilities in Site Scan for ArcGIS that will enable governments and critical infrastructure organizations to meet hardware and software regulations in the US and Europe. Through an established partnership with Auterion, creator of the most widely used open-source drone autopilot operating system, security-conscious US organizations will be able to use Site Scan, Esri’s unmanned aerial systems flight planning and processing solution, to plan and execute missions with the trusted and secure Freefly Astro drone, powered by Auterion. Additionally, for organizations in Europe with data sovereignty requirements, a new and fully independent instance of Site Scan for ArcGIS has been deployed to European servers, ensuring that organizational data resides within the region.

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Site Scan for ArcGIS is used by organizations that require drone imagery for visual inspections, site monitoring, asset management, and situational awareness. It’s an all-in-one, cloud-based drone mapping solution for managing fleets and collecting, processing, analyzing, and sharing data products. Industries using this solution include architecture, engineering, construction, natural resources, infrastructure, and government. Core capabilities in Site Scan—such as scalability, collaboration, time saving, and now enhanced security functionality—provide value to customers.

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The US government has recently issued a growing number of advisory warnings and bans on the use of drones that pose security risks. These precautions have adversely impacted federal agencies and private firms that manage critical infrastructure, causing them to adopt incongruous drone data capturing and processing workflows that consist of multiple vendor solutions. Esri can now offer these agencies a single, end-to-end drone solution that integrates Freefly Astro, using US Department of Defense-approved Blue sUAS software architecture from Auterion, and is fully supported by Site Scan.

“Our expertise in providing an enterprise drone platform based on open-source software enabled us to meet the needs of the US government and governments worldwide,” said Dave Sharpin, CEO, Auterion Government Solutions. “We are very excited to partner with Esri and provide [its] users with our groundbreaking technology.”

By law within Europe, data from publicly funded or critical infrastructure projects cannot leave the European Union (EU). To enable a scalable drone workflow, Site Scan for ArcGIS has been deployed to a server cluster in Ireland. European customers that require their data not be transmitted outside the region can now leverage this server cluster to meet project requirements.

“The relationship we have established with Auterion is key in being able to offer high-quality, secure drone software to our US customers looking to take advantage of our advanced, secure, drone-based imagery collection and management platform,” said Richard Cooke, Esri director of imagery and remote sensing. “Additionally, through the development of the EU deployment, an even wider range of customers located in Europe will be able to maintain their data and data processing locally.”

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