Aeronyde Raises $4.7 Million for Drone AI + AR Technology

The aerial systems company ‘Aeronyde’ based on Florida’s Space Coast has announced $4.7 million in seed financing to further develop its end-to-end infrastructure for autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  Aeronyde claims it is the first company to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) into a full-service system for the safe and secure operation of commercial drones, according to the company.

“In the 21st century, drones will shape global transportation and distribution and redefine the urban landscape; however, we’re not there yet,” says Edgar Muñoz, CEO of Aeronyde. “Adoption of UAV platforms depends wholeheartedly on the public’s acceptance of the technology. As an industry, we must ensure public safety is addressed prior to the commercial unmanned aerial system industry boom. This is what Aeronyde is working on.”

Aeronyde announced that this new investment was led by Korean electronics manufacturing giant JASTech Co. Ltd.,that  is best known as a world leader in flexible OLED/QLED display. Aeronyde is involved in the strategic phase of the project that will develop hardware and systems software for autonomous fleet management. Through data collection and partnerships – including joint ventures with IBM Watson, iSENSYS and Unifly – Aeronyde aims to deliver a turnkey UAV service for emergency responders, disaster relief, and commercial transportation and logistics in urban areas .

The Aeronyde team is working with United States regulators and international associations to define standards and protocols for the safe implementation of commercial drone technology.

The Aeronyde System
Aeronyde provides flexible infrastructure for aerial logistics, transportation and data collection including:

• Real-time data analysis to contextually apply sequencing, tasking, local environment, and weather.
• Machine learning to build situational awareness.
• Live flight and testing in Aeronyde research and development centers.

The end-to-end Aeronyde hardware and software system includes:

• Autonomous flying vehicles and processors
• Airspace and flight path management
• Unmanned traffic management (UTM)
• User interface and training programs

Powerful Partnerships
Its key partnerships include:

• IBM Watson: Aeronyde is in the process of conducting rigorous testing with IBM Watson to run millions of flight simulations, and is collecting data on the security of the system.
• Leading technology, systems and regulatory partners: Unifly, the Police Foundation, iSENSYS and the Global UTM Association (GUTMA)- a consortium of public and private entities are also working on unmanned traffic management (UTM) technology.

“The market is growing rapidly as more countries are looking at developing UAS regulations. We are excited to invest in Aeronyde, a leader in this revolution with their innovations in this UAS technology,” said Jason Chung, Chairman of JASTech. “Aeronyde is helping to build the future of Autonomous Aerial Systems with software and hardware that ensure the responsible management of drones in urban environments.”