Fortem Technologies Selected for U.S. Drone Testing Program
Fortem to run drone tests with North Carolina for UAS Integration Pilot Program
SALT LAKE CITY - May 09, 2018 --
Fortem Technologies, Inc., an innovator in airspace awareness and intelligence, today announced its partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT), which was chosen to participate among an elite group of applicants selected by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (UAS IPP). Fortem is part of a team assembled by North Carolina’s DOT, whose charter is to develop an environment in which drones can be safely used for commercial activity.
“The UAS IPP will rapidly accelerate the advancement of BVLOS flight, enabling the commercialization of drone delivery, search and rescue, safety inspections, delivery of medical supplies, and so many other services that will not only improve our lives, but will also aid in saving lives,” said Fortem Technologies CEO Timothy Bean. “We are thrilled to have been selected to participate in this program.”
Fortem Technologies has developed the world’s most compact, high-performance radar system for detecting airborne objects, a revolutionary safety capability for unmanned and manned aircraft. The Fortem TrueView™ radar system is small enough to be deployed on an aircraft to allow customers to build intrinsically safe air taxis and helicopters, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles that can operate autonomously beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). TrueView radar can simultaneously track thousands of objects—each smaller than a soda can, traveling at high velocity, across a 360-degree field of view. The Fortem DroneHunter™ is a fully autonomous BVLOS hunter drone, guided by the long-range onboard TrueView radar system—fused with other sensors—to safely remove any drone from a no-fly zone without risk to civilians.
The UAS IPP presents 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 by:
-Identifying ways to balance local and national interests related to UAS integration -Improving communications with local, state and tribal jurisdictions -Addressing security and privacy risks -Accelerating the approval of operations that currently require special authorizations.
The final awardees will evaluate a host of operational concepts, including night operations, flights over people and beyond the pilot’s line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies and the reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft. Fields that could see immediate opportunities from the program include commerce, photography, emergency management, agricultural support and infrastructure inspections.
About Fortem Technologies
Fortem Technologies is the leader in airspace awareness, security, and defense for detecting and defeating dangerous drones. Through an advanced, end to end system of distributed radar, AI at the Edge, deep sensor integration, and autonomous drone capture, Fortem monitors and defends the world’s venues, infrastructures, cities, and regions. The same system is accelerating the safety of the world’s airspace for urban air mobility. Based in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the company is privately held and backed by Toshiba, Boeing, DCVC, Mubadala Investment Company, Signia Venture Partners and others.