A DroneTalk with Zehra Akbar, Chief Strategy Officer at SkyGrid
Commercial UAV Expo: Women Behind The Drone Revolution
Diversity in the drone industry is critically important and something that DroneTalks is passionate about. In 2021, the co-founder Eszter Kovacs created a webinar series, Women Behind The Drone Revolution, to give a voice to talented and influential women leading the drone industry: The series started online during the pandemic and, based on its successes, in 2022, in collaboration with leading Drone Conferences became a live event series. The latest panel discussion took place at the ATM congress in Madrid, and in march 2022, DroneTalks also had a stage talk at Amsterdam Drone Week.
The series’ main aim is to gather the most influential women in the drone industry, listening to their views on the ecosystem and what drives them, as the business decisions they make are ultimately shaping the industry’s successes. During the panel, we’ll learn more about the panelists’ career paths, how they are getting things done, and most importantly, what remains to be achieved for drones to become part of our daily lives. This panel brings insights to the viewers that allow them to better understand this industry’s complexity and how to take action to include more females in the company’s everyday life.
One of the main takeaways from the past talks is that women are more and more drawn to the drone industry. And it’s not just because they think it’s trendy. It’s because they know the potential for this technology to change how they operate daily tasks. In the drone ecosystem, women are not just pilots – they’re engineers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, sales representatives, and much more.
Here are the featured panelists that participated in the Women Behind The Drone Revolution panel at Commercial UAV Expo:
- Okeoma Moronu from Zipline
- Zehra Akbar from SkyGrid
- Candice McHargue from UPS Flight Forward
- Abigail Smith from FAA
To learn more about Skygrid’s efforts, visit us here.
SkyGrid Named a Winner of the 2022 Edison Awards
All-in-one drone application, SkyGrid Flight Control, receives honors for flight technologies innovation for second consecutive year.
AUSTIN, Texas, April 22, 2022 – SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, received a 2022 Edison Award in the Aerospace and Robotics: Flight Technologies category for its SkyGrid Flight Control™ application – an end-to-end airspace management system built on AI and blockchain. This is the second year in a row SkyGrid’s solutions have been recognized on the Edison Awards list.
“As a two-time winner of the Edison Award, we are especially proud and grateful of Edison’s continued recognition of our technology,” said Amir Husain, Founder and CEO of SkyGrid. “At SkyGrid, we believe having an intelligent airspace management system is an essential component for unmanned aircraft in the global airspace. This award is a great milestone as we continue to innovate and scale the SkyGrid Flight Control application.”
SkyGrid Flight Control enables drone operators to explore airspace, and automate airspace authorization, mission planning, and flight execution in one unified solution. The application is available for free on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad users across the world.
Out of 350 nominations this year, SkyGrid Flight Control was chosen as the 2022 Bronze Edison Award winner by a panel of judges comprised of more than 3,000 senior business executives, academics, and innovation professionals. The Edison Awards have recognized and honored some of the most innovative new products, services, and business leaders in the world since 1987.
“It’s amazing to see SkyGrid continuing Thomas Edison’s legacy of challenging conventional thinking and developing ‘game-changing’ new products and services,” said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards’ executive director.
For more information about SkyGrid Flight Control, visit skygrid.com. To learn more about the Edison Awards, visit edisonawards.com.
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About SkyGrid
SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, is powering the next generation of autonomous aviation. As the only airspace management system built on AI and blockchain technologies, SkyGrid solves the industry’s biggest challenges integrating unmanned aircraft into complex, rapidly changing airspace. SkyGrid’s intelligent system monitors, predicts, and adapts to changes in environment conditions, aircraft performance, and regulatory dynamics to safely enable a wide variety of commercial drone operations, from package deliveries to aerial taxis. SkyGrid is also an FAA-approved LAANC service supplier, providing flight authorizations to thousands of drone operators in the US.
About Edison Awards
Over the last 34 years, being recognized with an Edison Award has become one of the highest accolades a product can receive in the name of innovation success. The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), whose inventions, new product development methods, and innovative achievements changed the world. The Edison Awards are operated by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of recognizing, honoring, and fostering innovations and innovators, and are hosted in Fort Myers, Florida.
For Media Enquiries
Carla Repsold
Marketing Manager
SkyGrid Named 2022 Edison Awards Winner
Now in its 35th year, the Edison Awards, conducted by Edison Universe, celebrate excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation. And we’re incredibly honored that SkyGrid was named a 2022 winner in the Aerospace and Robotics: Flight Technologies category for our SkyGrid Flight Control™ app. This is the second year in a row SkyGrid’s solutions have been recognized on the Edison Awards list.
With more than 350 nominations, the Edison Awards honor a select number of companies who, through their leadership and achievements, have distinguished themselves by making a significant and lasting contribution to the world of innovation, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here at SkyGrid.
Being recognized with an Edison Award two years in a row has been one of the highest recognitions we as a company can receive in the name of innovation and business. The awards are named after inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) and symbolize the persistence and excellence in innovation as personified by him. Winners represent “game-changing” products, services, excellence, and leadership in innovation around four criteria: Concept, Value, Delivery, and Impact.
The SkyGrid Flight Control application has been available on the iPad for a while now, but this year our team released the app on the iPhone and made it available to a global audience of drone operators. As the only solution built on AI and blockchain, SkyGrid Flight Control offers a smarter, more complete solution to automate every phase of flight.
Our app makes it easy for drone operators to explore the airspace, automate flights, and get real-time insights in one integrated solution, enabling safe, secure, and efficient operations. This powerful technology enables a more efficient approach to respond to natural disasters, transport medical supplies, surveil critical infrastructure, and much more.
Ultimately, SkyGrid Flight Control is a first step forward in our vision to become the world’s most trusted airspace management system that integrates all unmanned aircraft in our globally shared airspace.
I’m very proud of what our team has been able to accomplish. We believe in a future where millions of autonomous aircraft of all shapes and sizes will take to the skies to move our goods, improve our agriculture, augment our security and even provide safe transportation.
Interested in trying out this award-winning app? Download SkyGrid Flight Control for free today in the Apple App Store.
Advancing the Use of AI and Blockchain Technology for Air Traffic Management
Today, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are making their mark in various industries, especially in government and defense operations. The global military drone market is progressing at an unprecedented pace, and the technology and its application to military operations continue to expand across the world. The growing global military UAV market is projected to reach $26.12 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 12.78%. The considerable increase in UAVs used for defense, EMS, fire, and law enforcement demands a groundbreaking approach to operate these autonomous vehicles safely and efficiently in first responder scenarios such as search and rescue missions, heavy lift cargo, fire response, and medical evacuation.
New technologies have real potential to assist first responders. For instance, UAVs could make response faster, more targeted, keep responders safer, and provide opportunities for missions impossible for manned aircraft. However, these UAVs also require unique air traffic management solutions, advanced communications to keep everyone aware of what’s happening on the ground and in the sky, and onboarding tools to let them operate safely.
Working to tackle these challenges
SkyGrid, in partnership with SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS) and LIFT Aircraft, has been awarded a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through its SBIR Phase II program to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology for air traffic management.
Together, our companies will help enable the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to safely and efficiently operate unmanned aerial vehicles in first responder scenarios by applying AI and blockchain technology to manage the airspace for autonomous vehicles, specifically HEXA, LIFT’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
AI-powered platform to optimize air traffic management
Artificial intelligence is a key driver in revolutionizing air traffic management systems. Built on AI, the SkyGrid platform takes a smarter approach to aerial mobility.
For example, SkyGrid’s AI algorithms analyze crucial data, such as airspace traffic, local conditions, ground risks, flight restrictions, and weather forecasts to avoid hazardous conditions. Equipped with AI, in-flight monitoring to ensure safe operations and optimal paths is possible. Our system also monitors drone flights in real-time and notifies operators of anomalies, automatically generating new routes to avoid obstacles or restricted airspace.
AI-powered air traffic management enables intelligent deconfliction of flights based on real-world variables by sensing and avoiding other aircraft and objects with pre-flight and in-flight deconfliction capabilities. Continuous fleet health monitoring and predictive maintenance optimize drone fleets and reduce time to service with fleet performance recommendations. Our AI-based system automatically generates maintenance tickets and assigns them to technicians upon landing at a facility and tracks all drones, flight logs, and service records in a single dashboard.
Blockchain-based airspace management to ensure immutable data reporting
Blockchain technology helps eliminate the potential for human error in the airspace. Augmented with smart contracts, blockchain is the key to ensuring unmanned flights comply with the airspace rules and regulations.
An airspace system built on blockchain technology makes it easy for operators to share accurate flight plans in real-time and maintain high standards of auditability. Our blockchain-backed system assigns a unique ID to every drone and maintains a real-time record of each drone’s status, flight details (e.g., altitude, location, operator), and maintenance history, as historical flight logs are also crucial to ensure the security and integrity of data exchanged between operators, authorities, and service suppliers. Each flight log is linked to the previous record with cryptography, so they can’t be altered retroactively.
The decentralized nature of a blockchain system also provides more security than traditional, centralized storage since there’s not one database a bad actor can compromise. This approach enables authorities to analyze flight data and determine a sequence of events with certainty. It gives organizations a secure, accurate record of their flights to evaluate performance and optimize operations.
Leading the way to advance air traffic management
By combining SGS’s advanced AI technologies, SkyGrid’s AI and blockchain-based airspace management capabilities, and LIFT’s state-of-the-art UAVs, our companies will develop an air traffic management solution that provides defense, EMS, fire, and law enforcement with the means to advance their missions and more quickly respond to emergency situations.
SkyGrid’s AerialOS™ Improves Airspace Management for UTMs
SkyGrid Partners with SparkCognition Government Systems and LIFT Aircraft to Advance the Use of AI for Air Traffic Management
US Air Force’s research lab awards contract to advance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) management based on SGS’s artificial intelligence, SkyGrid’s space technology, and Lift’s HEXA aircraft
AUSTIN, Texas, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, is pleased to announce its partnership with SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS) and LIFT Aircraft Inc. The companies will apply AI and blockchain technology to manage the airspace for autonomous vehicles, specifically HEXA, LIFT’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This partnership comes through a contract milestone with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through its SBIR Phase II program and will help enable the United States Air Force (USAF) to safely and efficiently operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in first responder scenarios such as search and rescue missions, heavy lift cargo, fire response, and medical evacuation.
“UAVs already play a critical role in government and defense operations, and going forward will undoubtedly become more integral as the technology and its application to military operations continue to expand across the world,” said Logan Jones, President and General Manager at SGS. “Our teams at SGS, LIFT, and SkyGrid recognized the need for a safe airspace management system optimized for military missions, which enables seamless and efficient operations, improves security, and ultimately saves lives. We’re excited to work together to deliver a cutting-edge solution to the Air Force through this partnership.”
Through the SBIR contract, the companies will address the growing global military drone market, which is projected to reach $26.12 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 12.78%, and secure the operation of sensitive autonomous missions. By combining SGS’s advanced AI technologies with SkyGrid’s blockchain-based airspace management capabilities and LIFT’s state-of-the-art UAVs, the companies will develop an air traffic management solution that provides defense, EMS, fire, and law enforcement with the means to advance their missions and more quickly respond to emergency situations.
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About SkyGrid:
SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, is powering the next generation of autonomous aviation. As the only airspace management system built on AI and blockchain technologies, SkyGrid solves the industry’s biggest challenges integrating unmanned aircraft into complex, rapidly changing airspace. SkyGrid’s intelligent system monitors, predicts, and adapts to changes in environment conditions, aircraft performance, and regulatory dynamics to safely enable a wide variety of commercial drone operations from package deliveries to aerial taxis. SkyGrid is also an FAA approved LAANC service supplier, providing flight authorizations to thousands of drone operators in the US. To learn more about SkyGrid, visit www.skygrid.com.
For Media Inquiries:
Carla Repsold
Marketing Manager
About SparkCognition Government Systems:
SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SparkCognition, is the first artificial intelligence (AI) company devoted entirely to government and national defense. By developing and operationalizing next-generation AI-powered systems, SGS enables government organizations to meet the needs of their most pressing national security missions. Using technologies built in the United States, SGS advances government operations by analyzing complex data to inform and accelerate intelligent decisions, applying predictive and prescriptive analytics to improve logistics, deploying autonomy technology for power projection systems, using natural language processing for large scale processing of unstructured data, and more. For in-depth information about SGS and its offerings visit: www.sparkgov.ai.
For Media Inquiries:
Cara Schwartzkopf
Communications Manager
cschwartzkopf@sparkcognition.com
About Lift Aircraft
Austin, Texas-based LIFT Aircraft is leading the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) revolution. LIFT is working with the US Air Force and first response organizations to utilize their aircraft for defense and public service while also launching the world’s first experiential entertainment business based on an entirely new type of personal, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. HEXA, LIFT Aircraft’s multi-rotor, amphibious, ultralight vehicle democratizes the experience of piloting an aircraft, making the joy and utility of personal, vertical flight accessible to all.
Find out more at www.liftaircraft.com
Contact:
Kristin Giffin
Director of Marketing and Communications
SkyGrid Launches All-in-One Drone App for iOS Globally
SkyGrid Flight Control app now available worldwide for all iPhone and iPad users.
AUSTIN, Texas, February 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, launched its SkyGrid Flight Control™ application globally today. The all-in-one drone application is now available for free on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad users across the world. The SkyGrid Flight Control application makes it easy for drone operators to explore the airspace, automate flights, and get real-time insights as one integrated solution, enabling safe, secure, and efficient operations.
“After the positive response to our iPad application in the US, we are now making SkyGrid Flight Control accessible from both the iPad and iPhone iOS, and available to a global audience of drone users. We think this application is a critical unlock in providing users with a seamless solution and encouraging more drones in the global airspace,” said Amir Husain, Founder and CEO of SkyGrid. “Simultaneously, SkyGrid continues to progress towards a future where unmanned and manned aviation coexists. We’re already solving some of the most complex problems in the drone industry, and our journey has just begun!”
Powered by SkyGrid’s AerialOS™, SkyGrid Flight Control enables drone operators to explore airspace, and automate airspace authorization, mission planning, and flight execution in one unified solution. The following features and functionality are available for free within the new iOS application:
- Airspace intelligence: Provides a map of airspace classes, boundaries, temporary flight restrictions, notices to airmen, and other advisories
- Weather layers: Details local precipitation, wind speed and direction, temperature, cloud cover, and more
- Automated flight planning: Automatically generates area exploration, waypoint, and multi-objective missions based on custom flight parameters, such as desired speed, altitude, and location
- Autonomous flight execution: Launches the mission to autonomously perform the predefined flight plan or scheduled flight
For US-based users, SkyGrid Flight Control also provides automated authorization to fly in U.S. controlled airspace under 400 feet near airports through integration with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) 4.0.
More advanced enterprise features are also available for organizations looking to deploy, manage, and scale their drone operations. These features include AI-based mission planning and rerouting, multi-drone missions, custom object detection and counting, micro-weather, geofencing and alerts, and more.
Download SkyGrid Flight Control today in the Apple App Store or visit the SkyGrid website for more information about the advanced enterprise features.
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About SkyGrid
SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, is powering the next generation of autonomous aviation. As the only airspace management system built on AI and blockchain technologies, SkyGrid solves the industry’s biggest challenges integrating unmanned aircraft into complex, rapidly changing airspace. SkyGrid’s intelligent system monitors, predicts, and adapts to changes in environment conditions, aircraft performance, and regulatory dynamics to safely enable a wide variety of commercial drone operations, from package deliveries to aerial taxis. SkyGrid is also an FAA approved LAANC service supplier, providing flight authorizations to thousands of drone operators in the US.
For Media Enquiries
Carla Repsold
Marketing Manager
SkyGrid Flight Control Snagged a Finalist Spot in the 2022 Edison Awards
We’re proud to share that SkyGrid Flight Control™ has been named a finalist for the Edison Best New Product Awards two years in a row! Our SkyGrid Flight Control app makes it easy for drone operators to explore the airspace, automate flights, and get real-time insights.
The Edison Awards globally recognize, honor, and foster innovations and innovators whose solutions positively impact the world. As a 2022 Edison Award Finalist, we are honored to be included among the elite group of finalists recognized for excellence in innovation.
SkyGrid Flight Control excelled during the voting process and reached finalist status in the incredibly competitive flight technologies subcategory. Hosted by Miles O’Brien, a journalist from PBS NewsHour, all the finalists will be honored at the 2022 Edison Awards held April 21st at the Luminary Hotel in Ft. Myers, Florida. The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. If you want to learn more about the finalist, check out the complete list of finalists here.
At SkyGrid, we are committed to developing airspace management solutions for drone operators and enterprises, enabling safe, secure, and efficient operations.
Our easy-to-use airspace map includes weather, location, and regulatory insights to make more informed decisions before you fly. Our drone flight planner minimizes manual workflows with automated mission plans and autonomous flight execution. As an FAA-approved UAS Service Supplier of LAANC, SkyGrid also provides authorization to fly in controlled airspace in near-real-time.
Interested in trying out this award-winning app? Download SkyGrid Flight Control today in the Apple App Store or visit the SkyGrid website for more information about the advanced enterprise features.
Powering The Next Generation of Aviation
