Skysense readies to deploy droneport charging pad

Skysense, makers of charging pads for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), is one of 10 companies selected to participate in the Robotics Accelerator through the Qualcomm Inc. TechStars program.

According to Andrea Puiatti, Skysense founder and CEO, the Berlin-based company has relocated to Qualcomm’s Robotics Accelerator in San Diego, California. Skysense partners and customers include NASA, the US. Military Academy at West Point, DroneDeploy and Infinium Robotics.

Skysense manufactures charging pads on which an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can land and recharge its batteries through a connector attached to the aircraft. It’s latest product—the Droneport—is a protective, remotely managed closed structure which holds a Skysense Charging Pad and a UAV. It provides synching of sensor data to the cloud and connectivity within the Skysense Droneport network.

“For the past six weeks, we have been working side by side on the Qualcomm campus with some of the most talented people in the robotics, manufacturing and entrepreneurial space while continuing to improve the product and preparing for the first deployments of our autonomous Droneports in the field,” said Puiatti.

Qualcomm’s Techstars program helps entrepreneurs bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to build their business. With 18 mentorship-driven accelerator programs worldwide, Qualcomm said Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs.

The other nine companies selected for participation are:

• Carbon Robotics, San Francisco, California
• CleverPet, San Diego
• CtrlWorks, Singapore
• Inova Drone, San Diego
• Reach Robotics, Bristol, United Kingdom
• SkyFront, Hoboken, New Jersey
• Sky Robotics, Athens, Greece
• Solencia, Rome, Italy
• Rational Robotics, Alberta, Canada

The companies moved into the remodeled accelerator space on Qualcomm’s main campus last May. The 7,000-square-foot collaborative space is outfitted with a lab and work stations that enable teams to focus on building next generation robotics technologies.

Qualcomm is committing more than $1 million in funding to the program with each of the 10 participating companies receiving an equal share. Additionally, the participants will be offered business and technical insight on robotics during the program to support them in taking their businesses to the next level.  

The program concludes on Sept. 10 with a Demo Day where teams have an opportunity to pitch and demonstrate their robotic innovations to an audience of external mentors, investors and media, as well as executives from Qualcomm and Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated.

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