Motorola Solutions has made a strategic investment in CyPhy Works a developer of advanced drones. CyPhy is founded by Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot and has developed a drone technology that pioneers the use of “microfilament tether” technology that enables long-duration or persistent flight with secure streaming of high-speed data and high-definition video.
Motorola appears to think that the technology will be a boon for its efforts in public safety, another signal that Big IT contractors are lining up behind the significant and variable public safety contract opportunity at all levels of government.
“Real-time information is a powerful tool for our public safety and commercial customers,” said Paul Steinberg, chief technology officer at Motorola Solutions. “A tethered drone collecting situational awareness in large or hard-to-reach locations quickly puts eyes and ears on the scene, enabling our customers to read the moment, know what’s relevant and help them make fast decisions about how to deploy resources. This can help not only resolve incidents faster but also provide information to help prevent critical situations from happening in the first place.”
CyPhy Works offers “no-pilot” hardware systems, autopilot and control software, uninterrupted high-definition and infrared imaging, and laser measurement sensors. Its microfilament technology can be used for long-term, long-duration operation in the field without charging batteries, which enables real-time secure data transfer to the ground station.
Earlier this year, the company announced investments in VocalZoom, a developer of sensors for speech enhancement, and SceneDoc, maker of “public safety’s trusted digital notebook.”
Specific terms of the investment were not disclosed.
