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Airdata UAV Inc. and Autel Robotics Co. today announced that they are partnering to help pilots to safely operate drone fleets in the U.S. The companies said that Autel EVO II users will receive a one-month free trial of AirData Enterprise fleet management software.

Airdata UAV claimed that it provides the largest online fleet data management and real-time flight streaming platform. The El Dorado Hills, Calif.-based company said it processes an average of 20,000 flights per day, storing high-resolution data for each flight. It said it serves more than 170,000 active users worldwide, and more than 14 millions flights have been uploaded to date.

Autel Tech was founded in 2004 and expanded into unmanned aircraft in 2015. The Bothell, Wash.-based company’s drones have a patented folding design, and it offers secure data linage, operational decision-making in controlled airspace, and intelligent mission planning. Autel Robotics has teams in Germany, China, and the U.S.

Airdata integrates with Autel ecosystem

The software is now optimized for all Autel EVO II camera models, enabling pilots to reduce risk in flying and managing drones and fleets. The company said it uses unique algorithms for pilot and flight data logging, compliance management, maintenance tracking, and crash prevention information. It said its drone services can increase flight efficiency for safer drone operations.

In addition, Airdata is offering Autel pilots real-time streaming video. No extra hardware is required, and it is compatible with virtually any browser on any device, said the companies. The streams are PIN-protected, enabling pilots to securely determine who is able to view the low-latency drone feed anywhere over the Internet.

Along with the video captured with the Autel EVO II, the software provides analytics into the performance parameters of the drone system. This allows pilots to better understand flight efficiency, battery life, radio strength, camera usage tracking, and any data relevant to the operation of the aircraft, said the company.

Partner offerings include analytics

Autel and Airdata said their collaboration combines “one of the fastest ‘out of the box, into the air’ aircraft on the market with a market leader in unmanned analytic software packages.”

“Airdata is excited to partner with Autel to augment the EVO II’s impressive power, reliability, and efficiency by analyzing its flight and pilot data to ensure optimal and safer flights,” stated Eran Steiner, CEO of Airdata. “The AirData platform easily captures and manages Autel fleets, so that all pilots and flights comply with regulatory and operational requirements. EVO II’s unparalleled payload lineup is a perfect match with AirData’s low-latency live streaming; you can be up in the air and streaming in seconds, as no hardware or lengthy setup is needed.”

“Autel Enterprise Robotics are proud to offer a deep and robust aircraft with rich data output, augmented with AirData’s analytics,” said Gary DeLuca, Autel Robotics USA’s CEO. “An informed enterprise pilot is a smarter and safer pilot, enabled to make efficient decisions around mission planning and flight operations. We are equally excited to enable our pilots to stream media anywhere without additional hardware, now that AirData is partnered alongside Autel Enterprise.”

Use cases and demonstration

“With our fleet of over 80 drones and over 120 pilots, AirData has proven to be an invaluable resource for us addressing all of our fleet needs in a very easy-to-use manner,” said Kim Thomas, manager/safety specialist at CSX Transportation. “We were also thoroughly impressed with the EVO II aircraft and the selling point for us was the compatibility with AirData. I am confident our railroad is a much safer place now with our drone program.”

“At the onset of development of our sUAS [small unmanned aerial system] program, we realized a need for a robust, automated system to provide operational solutions,” said Lieutenant Jim Pauly of the Omaha Police Department. “Our search led us to Autel and Airdata. Since then, we have experienced seamless integration and prompt support from our partners at Autel and Airdata to help us continue to grow our program.”

Airdata and Autel Enterprise will offer a live demonstration of how the Autel EVO II works within the AirData Platform in a webinar at 11:00 a.m. PST/2:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020.

The Autel Evo II Rugged bundles, including one month of AirData software, are now available for $2,095.00 (EVO II Pro) or $9,998.00 (EVO II Dual). A 30-day free trial of AirData Enterprise is also available.