Percepto: Autonomous Drone-in-a-Box Solution

A group of four engineers built a computer vision module and mounted it on a drone so that it could automatically track them skiing on mountain slopes during a trip. This project set the stage for the development of an intelligent multi-mission drone capable of operating autonomously, which eventually culminated into the formation of Percepto in 2014. The first adopters of Percepto’s onboard real-time computer vision were the defense industry, who immediately realized the benefits of a drone that could detect and track objects of interest. The Percepto team decided then to harness the computer vision technology to develop a fully autonomous drone that could follow a programmed route and land without being guided by beacons. They called it “Sparrow.” Large enterprises across oil and gas, utilities, and automotive industries can improve their efficiencies in the areas of safety, security, maintenance, and cost performance using autonomous drones such as Percepto’s Sparrow. “We capture the visual data aerially and analyze it using machine vision and artificial intelligence to provide valuable operational insights,” explains Dor Abuhasira, CEO of Percepto.

Many companies in different industries have critical on-site operations spread over a large geography and require continuous surveillance. To this end, they usually rely on patrols who travel to the location by vehicles or on foot, which is a time-consuming and error-prone process. Percepto’s drone offers superior monitoring capabilities as it can detect humans, vehicles, or anomalies in real time. The constant site visibility helps organizations identify potential dangers and take proactive measures to reduce risks.

Percepto’s drone solutions also perform site inspections for maintenance purposes. They routinely collect and analyze high-resolution video footage, building a database of visual information over time. Consequently, when a drone encounters something that is drastically different in its field of view—such as an oil spill—it can examine the location and send alerts. Additionally, Percepto’s drones can be programmed to react to integrated smart devices automatically.

More than simple aerial data collection, Percepto’s drone solutions are capable of complete autonomy. From conducting scheduled missions to recharging itself, Percepto’s ‘drone-in-a-box’ solution is built on a ‘deploy and forget’ principle.