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Date:19/03/18

Aerones makes really big drones for cleaning turbines and saving lives

Enthusiasts will be talking about the potential of drones to do many of our dirtiest, dumbest and most dangerous tasks. But most of the tasks that drones actually perform focus on the camera – from surveying wildlife to monitoring cracks in power plant chimneys.
 
Aerones works on something much bigger. The startup supported by Y Combinator builds huge drones with 28 engines and 16 batteries that can lift up to 400 pounds. This type of payload means that the drones can actually perform a wide range of potential tasks to tackle the above three Ds.
 
The company started two and a half years ago, led by a trio of founders that have already been involved in several projects including a GPS fleet management system and an electric race car. The team is still lean and consists of seven employees, most of whom are engineers. The company was credited with its founding money, but has now collected around half a million euros. Aerones was founded in Latvia and after signing up with Y Combinator went to Mountain View in search of seed capital.
 
And the team has a lot to offer, with several videos demonstrating Aerone's rugged system. The drone looks like four interconnected quadrocopters – with this configuration, the ship can clear fires, perform search and rescue missions, and clean the sides of tall buildings. After more than a year showing the raw power of the product in a series of videos, the drones are ready for real use.
 
"In the last two months, we have been very active in talking to wind turbine owners," said CEO Janis Putrams to TechCrunch this week. "We have a lot of interest and declarations of intent in Texas, Spain, Turkey and South America for cleaning wind turbines, and in places like Canada, the Nordic and Europe for the deicing." When the weather is close to freezing, ice builds up and she builds need to stop the turbine. "
 
The company is currently testing the system on private land and in countries where regulatory issues do not prohibit flight. The company plans to monetize its drones as part of a cleaning service instead of selling the product directly to customers. Among other things, the deal allows Aerones to further develop the drone's hardware and software to enable a more robust and durable system.
 
The drones are currently working with a tether that prevents them from drifting while delivering power to the 28 onboard engines. Unplugged, the drones can carry a payload for about 12 minutes. This could be enough for a search and rescue mission, but battery technology needs to improve so that the system can perform other advanced tasks without being directly connected to a power source.


 



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