Products & Services
Precision Agriculture
Our HELIOS™ Precision Agriculture Aerostat Systems are inexpensive, tethered lighter than air (balloon) sensor platforms with high-resolution stabilized sensors providing NDVI and thermal data. With minimal to no governmental restrictions in most nations of the world including the United States, these easy-to-use systems make aerial agricultural sensor data collection easy and intuitive while maximizing payload weight and minimizing the potential of accidents or conversion of the platform to nefarious purposes. Congruent with proven military technology, these field-tested systems require no operator certification and minimal technical expertise and training. The unique characteristics of lighter than air technology allow a persistence of operation unobtainable from all fixed wing and rotary equivalents.
For specialized operations, our ARION™-8 multicopter platforms can lift some of our lighter sensor packages in unique situations.
Precision Irrigation
In collaboration with Jain Irrigation of Jalgaon, India and a major American university, we are developing autonomous mobile moisture sensors for agriculture in the developing world. Our RAMMS (Robotic Autonomous Mobile Moisture Sensor) and HAMMS (Handheld Autonomous Mobile Moisture Sensor) concepts will be tested through Jain’s worldwide network of agricultural test plots and smallholder farmer applications. In a world where food security and fresh water scarcity are growing as international concerns daily, the ability to combine sensor-driven control of drip and other mechanical irrigation for greater water conservation and increased crop production represent a transformative technology. Combined with our unique, graphic-based MoistureMap™ control software that does not require reading literacy, this technology immediately brings precision agriculture practices to the neediest agricultural markets and practitioners in the world. These solar-powered sensors and handheld digital tablets when combined with solar-powered pumps such as those manufactured by Jain, are a complete “green revolution” available to transform the developing world. These same products also offer a secondary market opportunity for urban farmers, vineyard owners and other moisture- critical agricultural operations in the developed world.
Unmanned Systems and Sensors
In the past year, our team has worked on multiple research initiatives related to unmanned systems and sensors. These include the cybersecurity of command and control links for commercial unmanned aerial systems, the creation of full-dimensional images of bridges and infrastructure, lighter than air atmospheric satellites capable of persistent operation in the stratosphere, wireless transmission of power to aerial platforms and various surveillance and security related applications and tactics for unmanned systems and sensors. As a company committed to “beating swords into ploughshares”, we are continually on the lookout for military and security technologies that can also make our world a safer, more prosperous place. Our team has appreciated the opportunity to work on research efforts with companies and institutes such as Riverside Research, WSGI, Kucera International and Electronic Warfare Associates and with universities that include Ohio University, Virginia Tech, Drexel University and Wright State University (Dayton).