Company Says Aircraft Have Civilian, Military Applications

UAV developer CyPhy Works says it has closed a $7 million financing round led by Lux Capital, with participation from General Catalyst Partners, Felicis Ventures and several undisclosed prominent angel investors. The company has so far announced two products on its platform: EASE (indoor hovering robot) and PARC (outdoor multicopter platform). As part of this funding round, CyPhy Works will expand its development and deployment of UAVs in surveying and situational awareness for commercial sectors such as agriculture, mining, construction, oil & gas, insurance, infrastructure, and others. It has developed UAVs for applications in the military, civil and commercial sectors.

CyPhy Works is led by its founder and CEO Helen Greiner, who was also the co-founder, President and Chairman of iconic robotics innovator iRobot. Since its founding in1990, iRobot has become the global leader in mobile robots with the success of the Roomba Vacuuming Robot and the PackBot and SUGV Military Robots.

“The opportunity to bring ... UAVs ... to commercial sectors for imaging, surveying, mapping, monitoring and other applications is truly exciting,” said Helen Greiner, CEO of CyPhy Works. “We are building a reliable and robust platform that is differentiated from hobbyist class UAVs, and is specifically designed for field operations in rough real-world conditions. CyPhy platforms will provide reliable “persistent”, 24/7 remote imaging data previously unavailable to agronomists, surveyors, mine operators, insurance companies, and security agencies.”

The company offers proprietary commercial grade ‘no-pilot’ hardware systems, autopilot and control software, un-interrupted high-def and infrared imaging, laser measurement sensors, and data management solutions. In addition to the traditional benefits of UAVs, the company also has developed a proprietary microfilament technology that can be used for persistent operation in the field for hours/days/weeks without needing frequent battery swaps, and for real-time secure data transfer to the ground station. CyPhy Works’ UAV platform also allows for additional sensors to be easily mounted for application specific uses.

“Helen is one of the most amazing technical founders of our generation,” said Bilal Zuberi, Partner at Lux Capital. “She previously built the most dynamic and successful robotics company in the world, iRobot, and Lux Capital is proud to partner with her. CyPhy Works is a pioneer in the world of UAVs, and their flying robots bring 21st century technologies such as distributed sensors, imaging, and big data analytics to some of the biggest industries in the world.”

As part of the financing, Lux Capital Partner Bilal Zuberi will join the CyPhy Works board of directors.

(Image provided by CyPhy Works)

FMI: www.cyphyworks.com