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Israeli startup to promote self-flying ‘smart drones’

Wonder Robotics inks deal securing $4 million to promote drone aircraft capable of making self-piloted commercial deliveries.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli start-up company is vowing to revolutionize drone aircraft technology, with innovations in unmanned aircraft that could change the way consumer packages are delivered.

This week, Wonder Robotics, a drone technology company based in Hod HaSharon, Israel announced the closing of a $4 million fundraising round led by Elron Ventures, in conjunction with Besadno Investment Group.

The funding will help the company promote its WonderLand system, which Wonder Robotics boasts can convert any drone aircraft into a self-landing autonomous vehicle.

While drone aircraft have been considered for commercial package delivery, their use has thus far been constrained by technological limits to autonomous drone aircraft, in particular during landings.

Currently, the technology for operating drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) is lacking, which hinders the ability to provide safe, autonomous drone flights, making the commercialization of drones expensive and unscalable.

The WonderLand system is aimed at ensuring precise, safe autonomous flights by clearing landing zones in real-time, enables emergency autonomous contingency landings, in unprepared, uncharted, and unattended sites – all without human pilots to direct the aircraft.

Wonder Robotics says that the system’s smart safety layer includes vertical awareness and robust precision landing, permitting drone safety beyond the operator/mission manager’s visual line of sight.

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In urban environments, this can prevent collisions with people and natural and infrastructural impediments such as trees, cables, buildings, and other dynamic environmental factors.

“We are thrilled to take part in the drone revolution, by partnering with major industry players leveraging on our technology to launch their commercial multi-drone operations,” said Idan Shimon, co-founder, and CEO of Wonder Robotics. “Since raising the seed round, we have partnered with Spright, Air Methods’ new drone division, helping it realize its mission to improve access to urgently needed medical supplies for healthcare providers.”

The technology is aimed primarily at enabling the widespread use of drone aircraft for commercial package delivery, but could also have applications for infrastructure inspection, mapping, and advanced urban mobility for people.