With the new 4-Ship drone and software package, a single operator can now plan, launch, and execute missions with multiple drones within minutes
Red Cat Holdings, Inc. a hardware-enabled software provider to the drone industry, announces that it has completed research, development, and production of a four-drone, multi-vehicle system for defense, government, and public safety markets.
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“We have shippable product on hand and are now taking orders for delivery this fall,” said Red Cat Holdings CEO Jeff Thompson. “We are committed to staying at the forefront of our rapidly developing industry, which is why we are excited to be, to our knowledge, the first commercial enterprise to bring a fully operational multi-drone system to market. This is a significant milestone for both our company and the entire drone industry.”
Developed by its subsidiary Teal Drones (Teal), and in close cooperation with strategic partner Autonodyne, LLC, the multi-vehicle package will be offered in two configurations: 4-Ship and 4-Ship+. Both configurations will allow a single pilot to simultaneously control up to four of Teal’s Golden Eagle units, which is the first drone mass-produced entirely in the U.S. under strict guidelines from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The 4-Ship+ will include two extra Golden Eagle units and an additional linked controller to facilitate handoff of control from one pilot to another. The 4-Ship+ configuration allows a back-up pilot to immediately take over at any time. The additional two drones also allow pilots to bring in units with fresh batteries, while units with drained batteries drop off to be charged – all without breaking up the four-drone flight pattern. This allows for continuous 360-degree surveillance of any target and overcomes the biggest weakness of any drone: limited battery life.
“4-Ship is unlocking our vision for the future of drones,” commented George Matus, founder and CEO of Teal. “This early technological inflection point will redefine how drones are used across the defense and public safety markets, arguably increasing value by an order of magnitude.”
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The 4-Ship is a complete solution that provides operators with actionable information from multiple vehicles at the same time — including the display of four simultaneous video feeds — resulting in faster situational awareness and decision-making in today’s complex environments. It also offers a tremendous savings in manpower, the most expensive component of any drone operation, since four pilots are replaced by just one.
“With 4-Ship, we have successfully integrated the human/machine interface with an embedded autonomy engine that offers additional intelligence and surveillance capabilities from a single pilot and controller,” said Steve Jacobson, CEO of Autonodyne, LLC. “The ease of use and multitude of applications makes the 4-Ship a next-generation drone system.”
“4-Ship represents truly disruptive technology that will alter the approach to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” added Jeff Thompson, Red Cat’s CEO. “No longer are drone applications limited to a one-pilot/one-drone situation, drastically altering the potential missions for drones due to the ability of a single pilot to be able to control a team of drones. The 4-Ship already provides significant flexibility in applications, from security to agriculture to law enforcement, as well as the expected military applications, for which there is expressed interest.”
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