Currently, any company that wants to send a drone across a city runs into many problems, including obstacle avoidance, adherence to local and national laws, long distance monitoring, and expensive pilots. By connecting drones to the internet, Nevada Dynamics provides the technology infrastructure to integrate existing drone systems into a safe environment where drones can be sent anywhere with the click of a button or swipe of a finger, and data can be immediately uploaded and visualized. NVD got started in a garage with some students just over a year ago, and we have made some incredible progress towards making this vision a reality.
The NVD system consists of an infrastructure that uses low-latency, encrypted, lightweight messages to talk to your drone. It can be used with a standard Android cell phone (with the NVD Totem app installed) either attached onboard the drone to allow for true long-range autonomy, or paired with a 3DR Solo or DJI controller. The web-based ground control station we have developed can then be run from any web browser; mobile or desktop. This enables drones to be sent anywhere to film anything, deliver any package, monitor any security perimeter, or anything else imaginable. As a bonus, we are also supporting real-time video streaming straight from the drone over cellular networks, as well as 3D cinematic shot planning.
The cloud connectivity; however, is simply a means to an end, as we enable the drones themselves to create custom flight plans that avoid buildings, other aircraft, and no-fly zones, while integrating with the national Unmanned Traffic Management system currently being developed by NASA and the FAA. Nevada Dynamics believes that controlling drones should be simple and intuitive, not complicated and filled with regulatory compliance training.
Drones are currently mostly used for filming, and producing professional drone footage requires professional drone operators that can cost an entire indie movie budget. For small filmakers, this is not an option. Using the 3D database that we are developing and expanding with every drone flight on our system, planning cinematic shots will soon be as easy as point-and-click. NVD is currently testing our 3D visualization engine, which will allow our users to plan paths visually in 3D space, setting up shots like a true director. The coolest part? This feature will hook right into commercial VR headsets and Android applications, leading to a truly immersive experience that puts you right behind the camera. This feature will be rolled into our beta, which officially launches February 20th. To apply to be a part of the Totem Beta, please click here.
By moving the common "ground control station" to the cloud, Nevada Dynamics has eliminated complexity and enabled any company to navigate this new market and use drones to their maximum potential, in the absolute easiest way possible by directly using our web control station, contracting with us to build specific drone applications, or by taking advantage of our open API and building on top of our system. This platform can move in many different directions, and we look forward to adding to our list of collaborators, which currently includes universities, large international and domestic drone and autopilot manufacturers, UAS-service based companies, and national cellular networks.