This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Data Blanket is an American drone artificial intelligence technology startup company specializing in wildfire management, based in Bellevue, Washington. [1] [2] [3] The startup has developed its own software that utilizes AI to map the perimeter of wildfires, while providing additional real-time information of ground conditions to firefighters on-site. The drones are flown autonomously and are capable of landing on their own.
Data Blanket was founded in March 2022 by Omer Bar-Yohay and Yair Katz, both former executives at Eviation Alice, an electric aviation company that Bar-Yohay had also co-founded. Yohay and Katz are both veterans of the Israel Defense Forces, where Katz led special operations. An additional co-founder is Gur Kimchi, who had also co-founded and headed the Amazon Prime Air delivery-by-drone project. Kimchi spent a decade at Microsoft on projects including Virtual Earth and search, and is a founding member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Drone Advisory Committee. As of 2023, the startup has received more than $4 million in funding, including from Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Innovation Endeavors, which was co-founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
As of August 2023, the start-up is currently awaiting approval of two waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration, one for unrestricted UAV use and the other for flying beyond where an operator can see - Beyond visual line of sight. Katz has indicated that he expects approval "Very soon". [1]
DataBlanket currently has 14 members. [1]
The start-up utilizes coaxial drones manufactured by Ascent Aerosystems, which run on in-house software developed by DataBlanket. They are equipped with RGB and infrared cameras, AI-based computational software, 5G/Wi-Fi, and advanced navigational features. The drones are self-flown and are capable of autonomously dispatching to and monitoring sites, which can then return to their original location and land on their own. However, a human operator is required to monitor the flight to prevent interference with other UAVs or aircraft.
In the event of a fire, drones are intended to be flown above the radius, providing a 'bird's eye' view of the fire to firefighters on the ground. Approximately four of their drones can cover a 2 mile radius. The system utilizes 5G/Wi-fi technologies to rapidly transmit various data points, which are then processed by its generative model, in turn providing an exact permitter 'mapping' of the fire, in addition to 3D and other information that can be critical for firefighter's efforts; Namely, topography, vegetation, and fuel conditions.
DataBlanket has also stated its intention to eventually be able to generate microweather data, in addition to improved prediction of blaze behavior by continuous training on data gathered from previous fires.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, area coverage, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.
A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers or wireless access points. Instead, each node participates in routing by forwarding data for other nodes. The determination of which nodes forward data is made dynamically on the basis of network connectivity and the routing algorithm in use.
Parrot SA is a French wireless products manufacturer company based in Paris, France. It was founded in 1994 by Christine/M De Tourvel, Jean-Pierre Talvard and Henri Seydoux. Since 2017, it has focused exclusively on drone manufacturing.
The Parrot AR.Drone is a discontinued remote-controlled flying quadcopter, built by the French company Parrot.
Lehmann Aviation Ltd (France), designs and manufactures professional civilian drones/UAVs since 2005. The company has two lines of UAVs: L-A series line of fully automatic drones designed for high precision mapping; construction/mining and precision agriculture; and L-M series line of both automatic and ground-controlled drones for long-range real-time surveillance.
Unmanned aircraft system simulation focuses on training pilots to control an unmanned aircraft or its payload from a control station. Flight simulation involves a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of flight controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc.
Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. is a company based in Guangzhou, China that develops and manufactures autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) and passenger AAVs which have entered service in China for aerial cinematography, photography, emergency response, and survey missions.
Regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) involves setting safety requirements, outlining regulations for the safe flying of drones, and enforcing action against errant users.
An autonomous aircraft is an aircraft which flies under the control of on-board autonomous robotic systems and needs no intervention from a human pilot or remote control. Most contemporary autonomous aircraft are unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) with pre-programmed algorithms to perform designated tasks, but advancements in artificial intelligence technologies mean that autonomous control systems are reaching a point where several air taxis and associated regulatory regimes are being developed.
The North Fire was a wildfire that occurred in the Mojave Desert near the towns of Victorville and Hesperia, north of San Bernardino and south of Bakersfield, California. The fire began on July 17, 2015. The areas most impacted were adjacent to Interstate 15, where the Cajon Pass passes through the San Bernardino National Forest. The fire spread to 4,250 acres, and burned homes and other buildings, as well as numerous vehicles stranded on the interstate. Seventy-four passenger vehicles and trucks were burned along the highway or in neighboring communities due to the fire. The fire closed Interstate 15, the main highway connecting Southern California with Las Vegas, Nevada, during the first day of the blaze.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around a target area until a target is located, then attack the target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted.
Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Systems/Vehicles (UAS/UAV), or Remotely Piloted Aircraft, are used in wildfire surveillance and suppression. They help in the detection, containment, and extinguishing of fires. They are also used for locating a hot spot, firebreak breaches, and then to deliver water to the affected site. In terms of maneuverability, these are superior to a helicopter or other forms of manned aircraft. They help firefighters determine where a fire will spread through tracking and mapping fire patterns. These empower scientists and incident personnel to make informed decisions. These devices can fly when and where manned aircraft are unable to fly. They are associated with low cost and are flexible devices that offer a high spatiotemporal resolution.
An Aerial base station (ABS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-mounted base station (BS), is a flying antenna system that works as a hub between the backhaul network and the access network. If more than one ABS is involved in such a relaying mechanism the so-called fly ad-hoc network (FANET) is established. FANETs are an aerial form of wireless ad hoc networks (WANET)s or mobile ad hoc networks (MANET)s.
Bridger Aerospace is an American aerospace company which provides aerial firefighting and wildfire management services. At the Martin Fire in Nevada in 2018, it was the first private company to legally fly a drone over a wildfire.
The Lume-1 is a Spanish nanosatellite developed for educational and scientific purposes by the University of Vigo in cooperation with Alén Space, the University of Porto and the French National Centre of Scientific Research. The satellite is part of the Fire-RS program in order to battle wildfires.
Shield AI is an American aerospace and defense technology company based in San Diego, California. It develops artificial intelligence-powered fighter pilots, drones, and technology for defense operations. Its clients include the United States Special Operations Command, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy and several international militaries.
Brave1 is a Government of Ukraine platform to bring together innovative companies with ideas and developments that can be used in the defense of Ukraine, launched on 26 April 2023.
Windracers is a UK-based manufacturer of autonomous cargo drones. Founded in 2017, its self-flying aircraft were originally conceived to bring down the cost of delivering humanitarian aid to remote communities. The long-distance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can fly up to 1,000 km before refuelling and can be used for multiple purposes including mail delivery, defence, humanitarian aid, firefighting and academic research. They have been deployed by a number of organisations including British Antarctic Survey and Royal Navy.