It has been over a year since RocketDNA was approved as the first operator of the DJI Dock platform. Thanks to our amazing customers, we have managed to rack up over 8,000 flights, with approximately 2,000 flights hours, across our fleet of autonomous xBot® systems, proving to be one of the most reliable Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) solutions for remote enterprise operations.
xBot®: Built for Extreme Environments
Going where no one wants to go, the xBot® is a ready-to-deploy, ruggedised skid-based design, with industrial-grade electrical and communication systems, ensuring continuous operations in harsh environments.
Some of extreme conditions that the xBot® has experienced over the last 12-months include:
- 47°C (117°F) Heat: Equipped with an industrial HVAC system, the xBot® is able to withstand high temperatures while ensuring longevity for the electrical components.
- Flash Floods: The Goldfields Region of Western Australia experienced unusually heavy rains earlier this year, with one of our xBots facing 40mm of rainfall within a 12-hour period, resulting in the flash flooding of the xBot® location (see image below).
- Hailstorms: In addition to the heavy rainfall, hailstorms swept past, in a separate event, producing hailstones the size of golf-balls, puncturing the lids of the Dock. As the components are designed to be modular, it was a quick swop-out the next day, and the operations were back on track.
- Violent Storms: Our xBots have recently experienced storms in excess of 100km/h wind speeds, with trees uprooting nearby, while the xBot® remained secure and operational, providing invaluable emergency response information to rescue and clean-up crews the next day.
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Scaling Remote Drone Operations
This 8,000 flight milestone demonstrates the growing need, within enterprise organisations, for an on-demand geospatial and visual data service that is reliable, relevant and robust within ever-changing environmental conditions.
As one of the most experienced operators in this space, RocketDNA understands that scaling drone-in-a-box (DiaB) operations is no easy feat – in comparison to traditional drone operations where you can pack the drone in bag and fly, DiaB requires careful integration into your physical and virtual infrastructure, with careful planning, proven engineering and a deep understanding of the technical systems required to deploy DiaB at scale.
For Enterprise customers, this means high standards with regards to the electrical, cyber-security and data accuracy, as well as detailed project management, seamless logistics and workers health and safety execution.
Outsource Your Remote Operations
Beyond the xBot® hardware, organisations need to consider how they will safely operate these DiaB systems at scale. RocketDNA has three Remote Operating Centres (Adelaide, Perth & Johannesburg), ensuring 24/7 availability across our global operations, remotely operated by low-latency satellite connectivity.
Our remote operations include all the necessary regulatory approvals required to get you flying today. Our commercial model has no minimum commitment period, so you are able to easily trial this new technology, while being safely guided by the industry-leader.
Data Integration and Task Automation
With the advent of autonomous DiaB systems, drone data capture has become commoditised, with the trend now focusing on automating existing workflows to help improve the overall efficiency and availability of engineers and other technical staff.
Integrating the xBot® system with your existing geospatial desktop software or favourite cloud-based tool, creates more time for your staff to focus on the analytics and reporting and be effective, rather than spending time on data handling and logistics.
At RocketDNA, we’re excited to be at the forefront of Autonomous Drones and AI, helping to provide Mission Critical data services to our Enterprise customers, delivering proven solutions within extreme environments.
