Airware enhances mining drone platform and solutions

Airware, the leading provider of end-to-end solutions that turn aerial data into actionable business intelligence, has recently announced the launch of enhancements to the Airware Mining and Quarrying solution. Airware’s solution is built on the secure and scalable cloud-based Airware platform. This solution leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to help mines and quarries digitize their business and improve operations with visualization, collaboration, analysis and reporting on drone-captured data.

Airware continues to partner with industry leaders to deliver value-based innovation that drives operational efficiency, lower costs and improved safety. Our enterprise platform and advanced Mining and Quarrying solution has delivered proven competitive advantage to our customers,” Yvonne Wassenaar, CEO of Airware stated.

This latest release of the Airware Mining and Quarrying solution provides enhanced capabilities for teams to collaborate in real-time to manage, process, view and analyse site data. The Airware solution includes:

 

Flexible data collection

• Multi-rotor RTK support

Airware will support the new DJI M210-RTK industrial quality drone. This new aircraft will provide Airware customers with a robust and readily available solution for faster and more accurate data acquisition without the need to place ground control points.

• Additional DJI drone support

Airware is also announcing support for the new DJI M200 industrial quality drone along with continued support for the DJI P4P, a durable and low-cost drone. Airware’s expansion of drone support gives customers the ability to choose the best drone for their business purpose and budget.

 

Enterprise security, performance, and collaboration

• Enhanced enterprise security

Airware is focused on providing the highest level of enterprise security. The company supports SAML 2.0 SSO and its information security program is aligned to ISO 27001. All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest to optimize security.

• Fast data upload

Airware cloud enhancements include increased upload speed, improved ease of use, rapid processing times and status tracking.

• Improved team collaboration

Team efficiency is enhanced with improved geo-referenced site information including ground-level photos and annotation management.

 

New advanced mining and quarrying features

• Advanced volumetrics

Airware is now the only company to offer eight advanced volumetric calculations to provide the mining and quarrying industries the most accurate stockpile calculations – even in the most complex site environments.

• Stockpile calculation and reporting options

Airware provides customers with options for stockpile reporting. Users can measure stockpiles in real-time and generate their own reports. Airware also offers an automated service with stockpile inventory data delivered as finished reports and files that can be imported into financial systems.

• Local coordinates

Airware supports the use of site-specific local coordinates to save time and streamline workflows by allowing customers to easily overlay drone data with other geospatial data. Users can leverage data throughout the entire operational life cycle using popular formats from Trimble and Esri.

Last year, Airware secured a strategic investment from Caterpillar Ventures. The investment allows Airware to accelerate programs that enable dealers to offer solutions and services within the construction, mining, and quarrying industries, and highlighted Caterpillar’s commitment in leading the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Airware is also distributing senseFly’s eBee Plus mapping drone as part of its enterprise solution offering. The eBee Plus survey drone is a large-coverage photogrammetric mapping system featuring RTK/PPK upgradeability, for survey-grade accuracy on demand.

Making the solution available within the global Cat dealer network as an element of the Cat Connect offering means that professionals in industries like mining will be able to specifically understand how these tools can help them.

Drone regulations in EU member states

Currently the drone regulation is fragmented within the member states with different regulations in each country. But later this year the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will be adopting unified drone regulations for all of the EU.

The recommendations are still in public comment, but will provide a framework for other countries to adopt blanket commercial drone regulations. EASA is seeking regulation that provides a unified framework, while providing flexibility to member states. Expect the recommendations at the end of 2018.

To help accelerate the efforts of EASA and other regulatory bodies, industry, and government stakeholders are partnering to identify the most common issues, and opportunities around the proliferation of drones. One example of these partnerships occurred during the first annual “Robotic Skies“ workshop in Oxford, UK  which covered the role of private industry and public policy in the drone industry. This event featured a number of panels covering a range of topics including: early adoption of UAS technologies, regulations, security, and policy. There were notable speakers from the industry present, as well as former key members at the FAA. The panels addressed the EASA recommendations, as well as many other future concepts which will enable more routine use of drones:

• U-Space – Similar to the FAA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) this will also utilize a remote identification requirement which will ID operators when flying in airspace, and in complex manners.
• Operator certification – A knowledge exam that will test the knowledge of drone pilots about airspace, weather, regulations, and safety.
• Self-Regulation – For the industry to move forward, regulators have to move away from zero-tolerance safety policy and instead, move toward self-regulation. We should not be applying the same safety philosophy to 2 pound drones as we do complex manned aircraft. This will be key in enabling more complex operations like BVLOS and operations over people
• BVLOS – Potentially allow for BVLOS without regulation at first and use data obtained from this type of operation to regulate further if needed.
• Data Security – A topic often overlooked by regulatory bodies who are typically more concerned with safety. But data security will be as important, or more important than aviation safety in relation to small unmanned aircraft, especially as initiatives like UTM and Uspace start becoming required.

 

About Airware

Airware provides end-to-end solutions that enable enterprises to digitize business and turn aerial data into actionable business intelligence. Over 100 world-class enterprises in more than 30 countries look to Airware to improve productivity, operational efficiency and worker safety. Airware is backed by leading venture capital investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Next World Capital, with strategic investments from enterprise customers and partners, including Caterpillar Ventures, GE Ventures, Google Ventures and Intel Capital. Airware is headquartered in San Francisco and has a European office in Paris.