Are Hydrogen Drones Ready To Take Center Stage?

Ben Levenson is Co-founder and CEO of HevenDrones, a manufacturer of heavy-lift actionable drones capable of solving a range of commercial, infrastructural, humanitarian and military challenges.  From autonomous last-mile delivery to defense missions, emergency response, and infrastructure repair the company’s fully-customizable drone solutions deliver cutting-edge performance, patented stability and superior lifting capability. Powered by an expert team with military, engineering, and scientific backgrounds, the company enjoys a strategic partnership with Plug Power and is a partner and supplier of the Israel Ministry of Defense.

In February, HevenDrones launched its first hydrogen-powered drone for commercial use, the H2D55. With 5-times greater energy efficiency than traditional lithium battery-powered drones, the H2D55 is capable of flying for 100 minutes with a payload capacity of 7 kilograms.

The launch of HevenDrones’ hydrogen product line addresses the challenge of flight endurance and payload capacity associated with lithium battery-powered drones as well as the long term environmental impact linked to lithium mining. Without the need to frequently replace batteries, hydrogen fuel cells will also lower long term ownership costs for organizations implementing drone technology at scale.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Ben talks about HevenDrones, the company’s innovative hydrogen drones and the promise and future hydrogen propulsion systems.

Can autonomous drones be deployed in urban areas?

Reese Mozer is President of Ondas Holdings and CEO and Co-Founder of American Robotics.  Ondas Holdings is a leading provider of private wireless data and commercial drone solutions.  The Wireless data solutions are provided via Ondas Networks.  The commercial drone solutions are provided through American Robotics and newly acquired Airobotics.  Together, American Robotics and Airobotics design, develop, and market autonomous commercial drone solutions worldwide.  Their  Scout System and Optimus System are highly automated, AI-powered drone systems capable of continuous, remote operation.  American Robotics has also led with regulatory successes, becoming the first company approved by the FAA to operate automated drones without humans on site. 

Right after being acquired by Ondas Holdings, Airobotics announced a $3.5M purchase order and joint venture with SkyGo, a UAE-based company that has a commercial license to provide unmanned aerial transport of goods and services across the city of Abu Dhabi.  With this partnership in place, the companies will move forward in launching a first-of-its-kind deployment of Urban Drone Infrastructure throughout Abu Dhabi.  The project will serve as the autonomous UAS model for the rest of the world, especially in major cities. 

Reese is an accomplished entrepreneur, executive, and technologist, with over 12 years of experience in the drone, robotics, and private equity sectors. He also serves as a Board member of the Commercial Drone Alliance.  Reese has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Venture Beat, and CNBC, among other national publications. He holds a Master’s in Robotic Systems Development from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Reese talks about American Robotics & Airobotics autonomous drone solutions, the Urban Drone Infrastructure project for Abu Dhabi and what we can expect to see in the way of global adoption of autonomous drone solutions.

If you could design a drone specifically for public safety agencies, what would it look like?

Blake Resnick is CEO and Founder of BRINC.  BRINC designs, manufactures and sells sUAS systems to public safety departments worldwide. The company’s flagship product, the LEMUR, employs innovative solutions designed specifically for public safety and emergency situations.  Using lidar technology, the drone flies indoors with precision and unprecedented agility, and its two-way communication system allows first responders to hear and see through the drone. But this only scratches the surface of the drone’s capabilities.

Blake has the innate ability to define a problem, imagine a new approach and create a technology-based solution.   He started taking college courses at the age of 14, and then attended Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. Before launching BRINC, Blake worked at McLaren Automotive, Tesla Motors, and DJI. He’s a member of the Thiel Fellowship’s class of 2020. Under Blake’s leadership, in just 2 ½ years, BRINC has become a leader of public safety UAS solutions worldwide.

He is currently working on an sUAS mesh system designed to respond to gunshot detections and 911 calls within seconds. When not enveloped in product development, he actively engages in recruiting, strategy development, internal communication, and fundraising. 

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Blake talks about BRINC drones, in particular it’s revolutionary LEMUR drone and he provides insights into how the company has become successful in supporting the mission of hundreds of public safety organizations around the world.