Today I am pleased to announce the formation of a new commercial support company which I have founded in combination with Bill Bonney (creator of MAVPilot and maintainer of APM Planner 2.0 GCS software) and Patrick Krekelberg who has been running an existing R&D consulting company for several years.
We decided to do this because it has become apparent that there are many companies which are attempting to use UAVs and other mobile robots, but struggle because the field is multidisciplinary, requiring skills not just in software development and electronics, but also power systems, aerodynamics and mechanical engineering. These combined skills are difficult to find in one single person. Over the years, the Ardupilot community and DIY Drones has fostered an amazing group of people who have developed these skills, many who are working as independent contractors. But some, particularly large companies, prefer the simplicity of dealing with one single entity to simplify project management, billing, etc. and to make sourcing talent easier and more reliable.
Our goal is that as the business grows, we will be able to draw on the talent of the community of developers which has built up within this ecosystem, and help connect them with commercial companies needing assistance with their projects.
We aim to help commercial companies gain easier access to the performance, reliability and flexibility of Ardupilot, and also help find ways for developers to keep doing what they have been doing until recently. We will be supporting the ArduPilot community with contributions to the code, support to members on discuss.ardupilot.org and its day to day operations as a commercial supporter.
ASC will offer more than just consulting on Ardupilot code, but complete end-to-end solutions. R&D, vehicle design, rapid prototyping micro-manufacturing, program management, autopilot code, payload integration, user interfaces. ASC also offer assistance with operations, flight training, etc. As little or as much as required to get customer’s ideas off the ground, or along it!. Companies can focus on integrating mobile robotics into their business and developing new revenue streams, instead of having to undertake the long and difficult process of developing UAS expertise and technology in-house.
Autonomous Systems Cooperative http://autosystems.io
Comments
This is indeed the missing piece enabling small/medium size companies not having the resources and/or know-how needed to use ArduPilot solutions commercially.
I will even go as far as claiming this makes ArduPilot better suited for commercial applications, since professional level one-on-one support/communication with DJI is pretty much non existent.
Great stuff, Good Luck :)
Good luck Rob and Bill !
Thanks everybody for the kind words and support. Exciting and interesting times ahead for sure.
Thanks for the warm wishes everybody.
Tipu and JB, I don't think that geography would prevent us from being able to help you. The Ardupilot team is spread all around the world, and I'm sure we can help you. Feel free to contact us about your needs.
Yes congrats! If I can assist in anyway, I'm available!
Congrats Rob.!!!
Goodluck with new company.
I wish you were any closer to Asia and we could have a lot of things :D
Cool! Good job Bill and Rob. It will be nice to watch you succeed in this space.
Shame you are't closer to Aus, now that sub 2kg is licence free overall, and up to 25kg for property owners like farmers and miners etc. But we might need a hand with some dev. work soon with an influx of projects likely to occur, and at least you're "only" one click away for some of the software work! ;-)
Regards JB
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