Iris Automation Selected For White House Drone Program

Iris Automation, a high tech company from San Francisco developing AI software for drones to enable them to fly autonomous, was selected on Wednesday for the White House UAS Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP).

On Wednesday, the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration announced the winners of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP).

“The IPP is an opportunity for state, local, and tribal governments to partner with private sector entities, such as UAS operators or manufacturers, to accelerate safe UAS integration. The program will help the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) craft new enabling rules that allow more complex low-altitude operations.”

– Federal Aviation Administration

Among the winning bids was Iris Automation in partnership with three lead applicants: the State of Alaska, the Kansas Department of Transportation and the City of Reno, Nevada. The projects are focused on enabling long-range pipeline inspection, agricultural surveying, and defibrillator delivery by drone.

Iris Automation has innovated an AI computer vision module which uses deep learning to make flying UAVs safer by giving platforms the ability to “see like a pilot” and make autonomous collision avoidance decisions. Often likened to the Mobileye of the drone world, Iris Automation has built and validated a “holy grail” technology that represents a massive step towards widespread deployment of self-flying drones.