Data Blanket

…A couple of days ago - and about a year since our first flight - the Federal Aviation Administration approved the V&V plan for our Autonomous Swarm system - a major step in our journey enabling anywhere, anytime, real-time, continous, all-weather intelligence: a “personal airforce in a box” - allowing our users to focus on the task at hand (fighting that fire!) vs. “flying” or managing (& reacting to) the airspace. (Shoutout to the FAA and their willingness to work on our 100% technical MoC and Safety Case, and to Ascent AeroSystems and their remarkable aircraft which allows us to focus on the application and our users - “it just works”) #faa #bvlos #swarm #one2many

We are excited to announce our participation in the XPRIZE Wildfire! Teams will compete to monitor at least 1,000 km2 and autonomously suppress a wildfire within 10 minutes of detection. We're open to partnering with teams focused on small footprint-fixed wing UASs and large aircraft autonomy to take wildfire fighting to the next level. Stay tuned for more and checkout xprize.org/wildfire Let's end destructive wildfire #wildfire #teamwork #autonomous #firefighting https://lnkd.in/eGUwqMuF

Large-scale emergency-management AI-Swarm Flight-Testing in the new year - rain or shine ! (...but mostly rain this time of year in the Seattle area 🤣)

...what goes up must come down! (Safely & Autonomously, of course 😎) Audience Question: "Will this system work when the Santa Ana winds hit?" (Forecast: "Gusts in the canyons north and east of Los Angeles are expected to reach 35-50 mph, with isolated gusts as high as 60-65 mph in the Ventura and Los Angeles County mountains and valleys.") Answer: "yes, absolutely!"

Just an Autonomous emergency-management all-weather drone swarm going through its paces. (...having forward-leaning design partners is priceless!)

From a new report: "Climate-exacerbated wildfires cost the U.S. between $394 to $893 billion each year in economic costs and damages" (...this is a ~250% to ~600% increase vs a previous report from a few years ago) ..."the total cost of wildfires in the United States is between $394 billion to $893 billion each year. This range was calculated by combining estimates from the existing research on the specific costs related to property damage, direct and indirect deaths and injuries, health impacts from wildfire smoke, income loss, watershed pollution, and a range of other factors. Each of these impacts on their own are very costly. Taken together, they represent disastrous consequences for the country."

Every year, wildfires result in the loss of thousands of lives, millions of acres, and hundreds of billions of dollars. Data Blanket is a Seattle-based startup developing small fleets of #AI-powered drones that autonomously carry out missions for assessing wildfires and relaying vital information to commanders. We sat down with Omer Bar-Yohay, Co-Founder & CEO, Data Blanket, to discuss his extensive knowledge and experience in mobility, the future of AI-powered #drones, and his passion for electric and #eVTOL aircraft technology which won him the inaugural SAE Sustainable Aviation Award in 2022. SAE Awards honor the very best in mobility, recognizing the extraordinary achievements of executives, engineers, students, and educators. If you want to learn more, serve on a selection committee, or nominate a deserving colleague---or yourself---send an e-mail to [email protected]. https://sae.to/3LPl225 #SAETomorrowToday

Great coverage from SAE International talking to our fearless CEO, Omer Bar-Yohay about our work!

..."Federal data reveals just how devastating this wildfire season has already been with more than 5,500 fires reported so far — events that have burned approximately 13.4 million hectares. That stunning figure is significantly more than the 10-year average of 2.2 million hectares burned in any given year." ..."The "monumental fires" in Quebec and unusual fires in Nova Scotia have been "challenging" for the country's firefighting resources, he said." We need (at least) 10X the resources and 10X the productivity to stay ahead of this issue - it takes a Village! https://lnkd.in/gVDnUGSR

More from our weekly flight tests: autonomous Take-Shelter + Terrain-Following-RTB functions. ✅ Tested in the Functional Sim ✅ Tested in the Software-in-the-Loop Sim ✅ Tested in the Real World, the ultimate arbitrator.