2022 InDro Highlights

2022 InDro Highlights

Wow. Another year has passed.

And for InDro Robotics, it was a year marked by new products, new deployments, and multiple milestones.

We did a deep dive on the year with our Year in Review story, which you can find here. But we realise some people might prefer a condensed version. So here we go, starting with the image above.

That’s Sentinel, our rugged teleoperated robot for remote inspections. We launched that product at the very beginning of 2022. It’s been designed for remote inspections, carried out over 4G and 5G networks. We customise Sentinel’s sensors based on client needs, but the standard model comes with a 30x optical Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera, thermal sensor, and a high-res wide-angle camera that gives the operator a clear view of surroundings.

Operations are a snap, using an Xbox controller plugged into a laptop with a comprehensive dashboard. Even dense data can be streamed and downloaded in real-time over 5G. In fact, we’ve proven Sentinel’s minimal-latency capabilities from more than 4,000 kilometres away. (That took place from Bellevue, Washington State, where we were invited to demo our system by T-Mobile.)

It didn’t take long for word to get around. A couple of months after Sentinel’s launch, we were invited to put it through its paces at the Electric Power Research Institute, or EPRI. Check out this next image – it’s a frame grab from the Sentinel dashboard, and was captured during a mission at an EPRI testbed electrical substation in Lenox, Massachussetts.

InDro Robotics

There’s a lot we could tell you about Sentinel but we’re trying to keep this tight. If you’d like more in-depth details you can read this story, or reach out to superstar Account Executive Luke Corbeth here

InDro Commander

INDRO COMMANDER

A significant part of what gives Sentinel its various superpowers is an innovation we call InDro Commander. It’s a bolt-on box that contains a camera, EDGE computer, a 4G- and 5G-compatible modem and the ROS1 and ROS2 software libraries. That means it’s a snap for clients to add any additional sensors they’d like without the hassle of coding. 

You can operate any InDro Commander-enabled platform using an Xbox controller over a highly intuitive dashboard on your desktop or laptop. FYI, that box you see just above the InDro Logo (and just below the camera) in the image below? That’s InDro Commander.

DRONES

Though InDro has a stellar reputation for ground robotics, the company was founded on the Unmanned Aerial System side of things. So we’ve been busy in that arena, as well.

The most significant development of the year is a software and hardware package we call InDro Pilot. In a nutshell, it’s a bolt-on module that’s similar to Commander. It enables remote BVLOS operations over 4G or 5G, dense data throughput, simplified sensor integration – plus the ability to broadcast to nearby traditional crewed aircraft that drone operations are taking place in the vicinity. 

That hexagonal box in the image is Version 1.0 of the hardware side. We’ve since created a much smaller and lighter version, capable of transforming any Enterprise drone using the Pixhawk flight controller into a low-latency, BVLOS super-RPAS.

InDro Pilot

GROUND (BREAKING) DELIVERIES

In 2022, InDro teamed up with London Drugs to test out ground deliveries via our ROLL-E robot. 

There were two separate trials. The first, in Victoria, involved ROLL-E taking goods ordered online to a parking lot for touchless, curbside delivery. The second, in Surrey BC, involved the second generation of ROLL-E delivering goods from a London Drugs outlet to a consumer’s home. ROLL-E features 4G and 5G teleoperation, and is equipped with a total of six cameras (including two depth-perception cameras), giving the operator tremendous spatial awareness.

That’s ROLL-E 2.0, in the image below. Its secure cargo bay – which unlocks when the robot reaches its destination – can carry up to 50 kilograms.

Delivery Robot

GOOD DOG

Also in 2022, InDro Robotics became a North American distributor for the Unitree line of quadruped robots. These rugged, agile robots are well-suited to a variety of tasks, including remote inspection. In the video below, Luke Corbeth puts the entry-level GO 1 through its paces.

InDro backpack

Remember InDro Commander, the box that enables remote teleoperations and easy sensor integration? We figured a module like that could really expand the capabilities of the Unitree quadrupeds. 

And so – you guessed it – we built it. We call this device InDro Backpack, and you can see it on the robot below.

InDro Backpack

meet limo

InDro Robotics is also a North American distributor of the excellent AgileX robot line. This past year saw the introduction of a very cool machine for education and R&D called LIMO. It comes with an impressive number of features straight out of the box, including:

  • An NVIDIA Jetson Nano, capable of remote teleoperation over 4G
  • An EAI X2L LiDAR unit
  • Stereo camera
  • Four steering modes (tracked, Ackerman, four-wheel differential, and omni-directional)

It’s a powerful, SLAM-capable machine. Best of all? It’s really affordable.

LIMO

montreal marathon

Three InDro employees took part in the Montreal Marathon – but they were largely standing still.

In fact, they were operating sub-250 gram drones as part of a medical research pilot project. The drones – two were constantly in the air throughout the run – were positioned at a point near the end of the course where runners sometimes encounter medical distress. Live feeds from the drones were monitored in a tent by researchers for two reasons: To see if the aerial view could help them quickly identify someone needing help, and to help pinpoint their location so assistance could be rapidly dispatched.

The results? The drone feeds helped quickly identify and locate two runners in need of help

“The view from above when monitoring moving crowds is just incomparable,” says Dr. Valérie Homier, an Emergency Physician at McGill University Health Centre and the lead researcher on the project. 

Below: InDro pilots Kaiwen Xu, Ella Hayashi and Liam Dwyer.

Montreal Marathon

TCXpo

One of the highlights of the year was the TCXpo event at Area X.O in Ottawa. Sponsored by Transport Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, it was a full day of demonstrations from Canadian leaders in the world of Smart Mobility. 

InDro was there, of course, displaying our InDro Pilot-enabled Wayfinder drone, as well a *lot* of ground robots. CEO Philip Reece moderated a panel – and was also in charge of airspace for multiple drone demonstrations. That’s Philip, below, talking about aerial and ground robotics to attendees.

InDro Robotics
Drone Training

training

Speaking of drones, we also launched drone training and resource portal FLYY. Online lessons are carried out by our own Kate Klassen, widely recognised as one of the best (and most qualified) drone instructors in North America. Whether you’re looking to obtain your Basic or Advanced RPAS certificate, or want to further expand your skills, Kate’s got the goods.

If you’re looking for training for multiple people, Kate offers discounts for companies and educational institutes. You can reach her here.

it's a secret...

The other big thing happening in 2022 (and continuing in 2023) was InDro’s work with major global clients. We can’t disclose that work due to non-disclosure agreements, but we can tell you we’re busy with multiple, exciting, ongoing projects!

Finally, we closed out 2022 with another successful InDro Hack-a-Thon. Employees were given a day and a half to work on a project or process that could benefit InDro down the road. Once again, Team InDro delivered, with some amazing projects completed within the deadline. You can read all about it here

a final word...

As you can see, it’s been quite a year – and CEO Philip Reece couldn’t be happier.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work InDro accomplished in 2022,” he says. “Our engineering and sales staff consistently punch above their weight, with multiple significant milestones – including excellent revenue growth – achieved in the past year. Just as gratifying is the fact our employees love what they do.”

Very true. Now stay tuned for an even more amazing 2023.

And if you’d like to reach InDro, just give that little orange button a click. Though we’ve got plenty of robots, we’ll make sure a real human being gets back to you shortly.

What InDro does

What InDro does

By Scott Simmie

 

Have you ever wondered: What exactly InDro Robotics does?

The answer might surprise you.

InDro is often described as a research and development company. While accurate, that isn’t very explanatory. So we’ll give the first word to CEO Philip Reece.

“InDro Robotics does a lot of different things – ranging from product development to service provision to creating and building solutions for global clients,” he says. “But all of these tasks have some things in common:

“This is an engineering-first company – dedicating to inventing, enhancing and deploying technologies and products that make difficult work easier and more efficient. Customers purchase these technologies, and we are also a service provider using these InDro innovations.”

That’s a good starting point. But what does that actually look like? We thought a good way to explain this might be to look at some of the milestones the company has accomplished between September of 2021 and 2022.

There are, unfortunately, some that we’re prohibited from telling you about due to non-disclosure agreements with clients. But even without those, it’s been a very productive year.

InDro Commander

We’ll start with something that has allowed many clients to quickly customise and deploy ground robots. You’ll see this in the image below; it’s the module sitting directly on top of the robot chassis below. Specifically, it’s toward the front of the chassis above the InDro Robotics logo.

InDro Commander

The process

 

There’s an interesting backstory here. One of the things InDro is known for is building custom robots designed for specific tasks. But building robots – especially building multiple robots with different functionalities – is hard work.

We have a head start on this process, because we use the excellent platforms built by AgileX, China’s leading producer of quality robotic platforms and locomotion systems. But – and you can ask any robot builder – the real challenge is building robots that do things besides move.

You need to integrate sensors – everything from optical and thermal sensors to LiDAR and even arms with end effectors. You’ve got to figure out how to power these sensors and pull their data – a task that involves much more than wiring. With most robots, it means finding and integrating the proper software from the Robot Operating System libraries (ROS and ROS2). Then you generally need an onboard computer to process that data – along with coming up with a solution to moving that data from the robot to somewhere else.

Our engineering team thought there had to be a better way. In particular, lead engineer Arron Griffiths envisioned a module that might act like a kit to make this process much, much easier. InDro Robotics then developed and tested a module that could be added to most ground robotic platforms. It contains a powerful Jetson computer for onboard EDGE processing, multiple USB slots for adding peripheral sensors, two wide-angle cameras to give the operator a 360° view of the robot’s surroundings, and more.

That “more” includes the ability to operate the robot, in realtime, over a 5G or 4G cellular connection. The browser-based console provides data from all sensors in a clean and easy to navigate dashboard. And the operation? You can simply use an Xbox controller and operate your newly integrated robot from down the street – or across the country.

You can learn more about InDro Commander in this story. But the point here is that our engineers identified a problem and came up with a solution. Many of our products have a similar origin: Thinking of a new way to do things that’s easier and more efficient.

InDro now regularly manufactures and ships Commanders to clients globally, providing the ability to rapidly customise any ground robot utilising the Robot Operating System – without all the hassle. (If you’re interested in more details, feel free to reach out to Account Executive Luke Corbeth.)

Now that you’ve got the Commander basics, let’s take a brief look at our ground inspection robot Sentinel.

 

InDro Robotics Sentinel

Location, location, location

 

The phrase doesn’t just apply to real estate.

Many companies have valuable assets in remote locations. To inspect such locations generally means dispatching one or two employees to make the often-long trek and then simply walk around and ensure things are working as they should be. They’ll check for any signs of corrosion or wear, perhaps watch and listen for electrical arcing or test for thermal anomalies, even watch out for signs that wildlife has been chewing on wires or building nests in locations that might pose a risk. Inspectors are also frequently dispatched following violent weather events.

InDro started thinking about this problem, with a particular focus on electrical substations – often-remote and uncrewed facilities where the current from high-voltage transmission Iines is stepped-down for delivery to consumers. What if a robot could be placed on site that could carry out these inspections remotely? In fact, what if InDro took the InDro Commander module and customised a new ground robot for the task?

That’s how Sentinel came to be. The tracked robot features a 30x optical tilt-pan-zoom camera, a thermal sensor – along with any additional sensors clients would like incorporated. Sentinel can autonomously return to its wireless charging base and can literally be left on its own for months. An operator can remotely carry out regular inspections, read gauges, capture high-resolution photo and video, check for thermal anomalies – and generally accomplish nearly everything that could be carried out by a human inspector without the time and expense. Plus, Sentinel can be dispatched within minutes when necessary.

You can read more about Sentinel here. The robot also recently took part in exhaustive testing at the Electrical Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) substation test facility in Lenox, Massechusetts.

This is a great example of where one InDro innovation – the Commander module – helped pave the way for a second innovation: Sentinel.

It also contributed to a third: The ROLL-E delivery robot:

 

Delivery Robot

ROLL-E

 

ROLL-E is another beneficiary of the InDro Commander invention. This delivery robot is capable of remotely teleoperated urban deliveries, such as from a retail outlet to a home.

InDro has already completed trials with London Drugs at a Victoria location, delivering goods purchased online for curbside pickup.

InDro now has a second-generation ROLL-E, which the company will be unveiling shortly. ROLL-E 2.0 has been purpose-built to maximize integration into an urban environment with features like signals, brake and running lights – and a series of cameras (including depth perception cameras) to provide the operator with a 360° view of ROLL-E’s surroundings. Goods are contained in a secure cargo bay that opens only when the recipient interacts with a touch-screen.

And that’s not all.

InDro is currently building the InDro Backpack – a smaller version of Commander. Its purpose? To offer the same capabilities for teleoperation and high speed data transmission on the Unitree GO1 and its other quadrupeds.

Here’s a brief video demonstrating teleoperation of the GO1 as the backpack was under development; InDro anticipates the bolt-on 4G/5G system will be ready for clients later this fall.

 

What about drones?

 

Good question. While we were developing Commander, a similar but separate project was underway for aerial robots.

Canada Drones

InDro Capsule

 

See that guy on the right? That’s Ahmad Tamimi, an engineer at InDro’s Area X.O location in Ottawa.

When this photo was taken in the fall of 2021, he was deep into something called NERDS (Network Enhanced Realtime Drone project). It was a technology challenge in conjunction with the Ontario Centre of Innovation, Ericsson and the ENCQOR 5G network – a testbed corridor that runs through Quebec and Ontario.

You can find full details of that project here – and a link to InDro’s White Paper on NERDS here. But in a nutshell, Tamimi created a module similar to Commander, only for Enterprise drones using the Pixhawk flight controller. It enables operations over cellular, including real-time dense-data uploads directly to the cloud during flight. It also broadcasts to nearby traditional aircraft that a drone is operating – a tremendous boost to BVLOS flights.

Here’s a picture of that module on top of our Wayfinder drone:

Canada Drones

InDro Pilot

 

InDro didn’t stop there. The company created an entire software suite – InDro Pilot – for Enterprise drones (and, specifically, drones using the InDro Capsule).

That software makes it a snap to add and integrate other sensors onto drones and carry out low-latency flights over cellular networks. As with Commander, sensors can simply be plugged in to InDro Capsule, and the dashboard allows for drag-and-drop sensors modules to be added to the software suite. Want a winch? Simply add on the winch module and all operational controls and parameters are added to the InDro Pilot software. A robust and encrypted link between the InDro Ground Station and the drone ensures that any data collected remains secure. 

This project was completed in that 2021-2022 window we established earlier. InDro is currently creating a smaller and lighter InDro Capsule for commercialization of the entire InDro Pilot system. 

Here’s a screen grab of the winch software module:

Canada Drone

One more time

 

And here’s a look at the complete system…

Again, if you’d like a more thorough look at that system you’ll find far more details here.

Drones Canada

That’s not all…

 

As mentioned, it’s been a highly productive year at InDro. We’ve flown drones in the NRC Wind Tunnel in Ottawa for research on urban wind tunnels. The company has partnered with UBC, Honeywell and others on a major research project involving flights over 5G and using AI software to precisely predict energy demands and costs of any planned drone mission.

As drones begin deliveries at scale in the future, the data being obtained about the capabilities of 5G networks to handle multiple drones simultaneously – as well as costs – will be tremendously useful to the industry-at-large.

All this, while carrying out service provision for clients on a global scale, including this mission in Saudi Arabia. (That’s our photogrammetry/GIS specialist Eric Saczuk in the photo).

Drones Canada

Before we forget…

 

InDro was also in the news this year for its role in the Drone Detection Pilot Project at the Ottawa International Airport.

During the protests in the nation’s capital, data obtained by the system revealed that scores of unauthorized drone flights were taking place in restricted airspace – including above Parliament Hill, over 24 Sussex Drive, and even near embassies and other sensitive locations.

InDro takes part in this project – and supplies the drone detection equipment for free – because there’s valuable data being obtained that contributes to both safety at YOW and informed policy and procedures.

In fact, the news even made the cover of WINGS magazine:

Drone detection

Wait, there’s more!

 

Hard to believe, but there is (and congrats for sticking through this long-ish read!).

InDro reached several other milestones between the fall of 2021 and 2022. The company can’t, unfortunately, share details of these due to non-disclosure agreements. But innovative solutions have been created for global clients. In one example, a prototype robot was so successful that InDro received orders for many more.

On top of that, the company has worked closely with industry and regulatory partners during this period, including delivering InDro Pilot-enabled drones to Transport Canada and assisting RPAS parachute manufacturer AVSS with testing of its latest product. 

Drones Canada

InDro’s Take

 

With an agile and motivated team, InDro Robotics has created multiple new and innovative products in the course of a single year. Some of these were created specifically for clients, while others were organic in nature. The development of InDro Commander has paved the way for multiple robots (Sentinel, ROLL-E, ROLL-E 2.0). In addition, the company has shipped custom Commander-enabled robots to clients – including one fully customized for Solar Farm inspection. Many clients are now order Commander modules to make the customization of their own ground robotics platforms a vastly easier process.

In addition, the development of the InDro Capsule and InDro Pilot system for Enterprise drones will soon allow clients to easily customize their RPAS with additional sensors, along with secure high-data bandwidth (direct to Cloud) and remote teleoperations via console over cellular networks. Stay tuned for more on that.

CEO Philip Reece got the first word in this summary; he also gets the last:

“I’m justifiably proud of our team for the multiple milestones we’ve surpassed during the past year,” he says. “InDro has created numerous products – and participated in multiple projects – where we’ve been able to push the envelope. Every single one of these products and processes uses technological innovations to make hard jobs easier, or to significantly expand the capabilities of drones and robots. The team has really hit its stride.”

Hopefully, this gives you a much better idea of What InDro Robotics Does. And why we proudly call ourselves an R&D company.

 

InDro Robotics releases “NERDs” White Paper

InDro Robotics releases “NERDs” White Paper

By Scott Simmie, InDro Robotics

We’re pleased to release a White Paper detailing an ambitious and successful project we’ve recently completed.

That project, perhaps appropriately enough, goes by the acronym NERDS – which stands for Network Enhanced Realtime Drone project. It began as a technology challenge issued by the Ontario Centre of Innovation, whose mandate is to “develop and deliver programs that accelerate the development, commercialization, and adoption of advanced technologies to drive job creation.” The project included technical support from Ericsson and access to the ENCQOR network, a test-bed 5G network with a corridor through Quebec and Ontario.

The goal of this challenge? To greatly enhance capability of Enterprise drones and enhance the safety of Beyond Visual Line of Sight flights. The challenge involved designing, building and testing a module that would allow an Enterprise drone to be flown over the 5G network while transmitting even highly dense data in realtime. Some of the more specific goals included:

  • Drone Command & Control (C2) over 5G
  • Transmission of telemetry back to the control station: altitude, speed, compass heading, high-precision GPS, battery level, ambient temperature, barometric pressure, etc.
  • Transmit ultra low-latency, uncompressed 4K video stream via 5G
  • Use a Software Defined Radio to transmit to nearby traditional aircraft that a drone operation in the area is underway

There were other bits and pieces as well, but that sums up the core of the project.

Under the lead of engineer Ahmad Tamimi, InDro got to work. There was a ton of testing, simulations – even mapping out the strength of 5G signals at various altitudes – before we pulled the hardware and software together into a module compatible with any Enterprise drone using a Pixhawk flight controller.

Here’s generation one of that module, which we call InDro Capsule. It’s that black, hexagonal device on top of the drone.

 

Network Enhanced Realtime Drone Technology

Plug & Play

 

We are currently working on a commercial version of InDro Capsule. It won’t be long before we turn this into a product that will enable other Enterprise drones to be flown over 4G and 5G networks. That product will include the Software Defined Radio for alerting private aircraft to drone operations.

There’s actually much more to the system, which integrates into our new software platform, InDro Pilot. One of the more unique features of the InDro Pilot ecosystem is that it will allow Enterprise drone operators to quickly integrate other sensors, simply using a drag and drop interface. You simply select the appropriate module for the desired sensor.

We’re not going to jump into details here, but if you’re like more info about this system you’ll find it here. We will, however, give you a glimpse of how this works by showing you the Winch module:

Network Enhanced Realtime Drone Technology

Context

 

Now that you’ve got some background, we’ll get to the White Paper.

Like all White Papers, this one methodically details the scope of the project, the steps that were taken to achieve those goals, as well as the results. If you’re into the fine details of how a challenge like this gets accomplished, you’ll find plenty to interest you. It’s also a testament to the hard work of InDro’s engineering team – and Ahmad Tamimi in particular. Ahmad spent the early months of the COVID outbreak working on this project solo (along with virtual meetings with Ericsson).

The image below gives you a sense of the granular detail contained in the document.

You can download a .pdf of the White Paper here.

Network Enhanced Realtime Drone Technology

InDro’s Take

 

At InDro, we love a challenge. And the NERDs project presented us, along with partners Ericsson, a significant one.

We believe the resulting InDro Pilot system (which includes the InDro Capsule module) will enable safer BVLOS flight. The 4K streaming and ultra low-latency enhance situational awareness for the pilot, and the Software Defined Radio will alert neaby aircraft to drone operations in the area. In addition, even dense data can be uploaded directly to the cloud during missions. Just as the InDro Commander offers a plug-and-play solution for customizing ground robots, InDro Pilot will do the same for Enterprise drones on the Pixhawk platform.

We are currently making InDro Capsule lighter and more compact, and look forward to commercializing the entire package in the near future.