Time Magazine’s best invention just got better

Israel-based drone service provider Percepto is on a tear lately. The company in November was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021. But Percepto isn’t stopping there.

Percepto is both a hardware and software company. Its software automates a fleet of drones (also typically built by Percepto) to fly pre-programmed routes, then takes the data and makes sense of it.

The company this week announced the launch of a completely new drone called Air Mobile, as well as an advanced AI-powered analytics system for its 2022 Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring platform. The system is designed to be able to integrate with not just its own drones but also third-party drones and sensors, while providing insights tailored to the specific industry you’re working in.

Percepto is largely known for marketing itself as a maker of a “drone-in-a-box.” With it, you get an end-to-end solution powered by AI, designed to collate and streamline data gathered via your drone to provide insights you can then act on. Here’s what you can expect from Percepto’s latest launch:

A new drone: Air Mobile

Today, Percepto is launching an all new drone called the Percepto Air Mobile, which is designed to be more compact and lighter-weight. This model is more suitable for smaller sites or organizations new to onboarding Percept’s drone-in-box program. Though, it might also be a it for larger sites that need greater deployment flexibility.

Industries targeted for use with the Air Mobile are those conducting linear inspections, such as pipelines and power lines.

Percepto Sparrow gets an upgrade

Percepto’s existing drone, the Percepto Sparrow, is also getting a next-generation upgrade. Redubbed the Percepto Air Max, this drone is designed for large mining, oil & gas, and energy operations that need to inspect and map complex industrial environments where the highest accuracy and durability are critical. It can carry a variety of payloads and is also the only DIB with Optical Gas Imaging (OGI).

A new analytics system

With its newly-launched Insight Manager, you’ll get an AI-powered packaged solution designed for sector-specific use cases, such as solar, mining, energy, oil & gas and other industries.

One highlight of Percepto’s system is an AI change detection framework, which supposedly offers industry-specific insights about your mission, generating reports and insights based on the visual data you collect. Among the insights it can provide include geotagging and displaying issues and faults on a map.

The software works with both drones and robots, as well as other visual data collectors. And it’s not just Percepto’s drones. The system works with other drones, including most DJI drones.

And once collected and analyzed, the data can be disseminated to relevant stakeholders on any mobile device.

What to know about Percepto

Percepto’s signature is that drone-in-the-box solution. With the Percepto Air Max and Air Mobile drones, you store them in that box, called Percepto Base. The bases are designed to be relatively light and easy to relocate, while still being durable to withstand complicated environmental conditions.

Percepto says they are designed for infrequent maintenance, and should theoretically provide protection against even extreme environmental phenomena, such as hurricanes. In fact, the company in summer 2020 became the first drone company to build a product that passes Level 5 hurricane testing with its Sparrow drone. The Sparrow drone can fly at a wind speed of up to 155mph.

Percepto saw a big win when it was listed in TIME magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021. But it’s been winning before then. Its systems are used by Fortune 500 customers on six continents, including ENEL, Florida Power and Light, and Verizon.

Before scoring the time award, it won other victories including the Edison Gold Award and Frost & Sullivan Global Enabling Technology Leadership Award.