Freefly and Auterion announce the release of Astro

 Los Angeles, California – 30 September – Freefly Systems, leading drone manufacturers and Auterion, the largest open source drone software platform announced the releases of the Astro Enterprise Drone Solution. In partnering, the two companies have combined their respective expertise in hardware and software to build and release the Astro – the best multi use enterprise drone for utility, telco, and infrastructure companies, as well as drone service providers and first responders.

The Astro will provide enterprise and government customers a highly capable workhorse drone for mapping, inspection and first responders to capture media, automate processes, and streamline data flows through Auterion’s enterprise-ready software platform.

With a 2 lb payload, the Astro can achieve a 30 minute flight time, supports over nine payload options including the industry leading 60 megapixel Sony α7R IV, folds into a backpack, is weather sealed, and cloud connected. The Astro is engineered and built by Freefly around the Auterion Skynode reference design and is powered by Auterion Enterprise PX4 software on board and by Auterion Mission Control on the ground station. The platform provides customers’ with fleet management, 4G LTE connectivity for online workflows, predictive maintenance, geotagging, and the Auterion SDK for enterprise developers. 

With 10 years of experience in developing drone hardware systems and with thousands of tested flight hours, Freefly has a reputation of building the industry’s toughest drones as well as a track record of offering the best customer support in the industry.

The team behind Auterion has been developing software for drones for over 10 years, and provides an ecosystem of payloads and radio links, expertise in connected workflows for enterprises, while driving open standards to support innovation and scalability within the industry.

The partnership between Freefly and Auterion delivers a drone system that is greater than the sum of its parts. Freefly relentlessly pursues hardware excellence that exceeds their customers expectations, while Auterion enables the user to tap the full power of the Astro by creating a cohesive software ecosystem and user experience. 

Tabb Firchau, CEO of Freefly says, “Partnering with Auterion to bring the Astro to market allowed us to aim much higher than we could have on our own. As a small self-funded startup of 35 people we have huge ambitions and often end up having to cut scope from the end product.  Working with Auterion allowed us to deliver even more than we originally planned. The open architecture and collaborative nature at Auterion enabled several key pivots during the product development process, ultimately landing on a product that is more flexible, efficient, and ultra adaptable. We can’t wait to see what users will think!”

“Sony is excited about Auterion-Freefly team’s usage of our new SDK to integrate the Alpha 7R IV full-frame camera into their new enterprise drone system,” said Neal Manowitz, Deputy President of Imaging Product and Solutions Americas for Sony Electronics. “We will continue to evolve our software to meet the growing demands of commercial clients, ultimately allowing them to capture, measure and create in ways never before possible.” 

Lorenz Meier, Auterion co-founder and CEO said, “The release of Astro is the culmination of more than a decade of work to make open source the default in the commercial drone industry. Auterion Enterprise PX4 is giving businesses a trusted, known base and better integrations than any of the proprietary alternatives.”

The Astro is available for pre-order today with first units shipping in Q4 2020. 

For more information about the Astro visit www.freeflysystems.com/astro. For more information about the Auterion software platform visit www.auterion.com/enterprise.