Airobotics recently announced the beginning of an exclusive distribution partnership with engineering company RockBlast to allow Chilean mining companies to utilize the advanced Airobotics system at mining sites. In the permanent search for new technologies, RockBlast became the first company to introduce a fully autonomous drone system into South America to enhance and improve the mining industry.
The mining industry in Chile is significant with more than 60 large companies with workers in open pits or underground mines. As one of the leading mining companies in Chile, Minera Centinela is actively seeking to improve the efficiency and productivity of its operations while creating a safe work environment for its employees and the surrounding area. Airobotics’ autonomous drones will be used at the Minera Centinela mine to help achieve this goal with their 24/7 multi-purpose functionality and safe and easy operations which do not interfere with mine operations.
“We’re successfully implementing our autonomous drones with Tier 1 mining companies in the US, Australia and Israel, and we’re excited to expand our operations into Chile,” Ran Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Airobotics stated in a press release. “The Optimus drone will help improve Minera Centinela’s competitiveness in the market, increase efficiency, and improve safety for its employees. Our partnership with RockBlast will also allow us to deliver our disruptive technology to mines across Chile improving the overall mining industry in the country.”
Automation has boosted productivity at mine sites by 25% and drones are one of the most versatile and cost-effective ways to integrate automation into the industry, according to Airobotics. Without the need for human pilots, they can operate safely in the most hazardous and remote sites. Airobotics’ automated drones perform a variety of applications, which will be implemented at RockBlast’s customer mine sites, enabling continuous operation of the open pit while retrieving highly accurate data of operational progress. These applications include:
- Stockpile volumes and end-of-month reconciliation
- Terrain mapping and change detection
- Asset management and scheduling
- Situational awareness and emergency response
- Infrastructure and equipment inspection
- Security and surveillance
“Drones have positioned themselves as a technological tool of high value throughout the world, particularly in mining. As part of the growing digitization of information in mining, the data obtained by drones has become an essential factor for decision making in the different stages of the mining process and RockBlast, together with Airobotics, is a part of this new era,” said Horacio Gutierrez Abelaida, CEO of RockBlast.
Wooldridge Joins Airobotics
Earlier, Airobotics announced that former Google and Facebook executive Richard Wooldridge has taken on the COO role and responsibilities for scaling the company’s manufacturing, supply chain and operations across different markets.
As the first company to be granted an aviation authority to fly drones without a human pilot, Airobotics welcomes Wooldridge to expand on its years of unique aerospace design and advanced systems for end users.
He has more than two decades of managerial experience in the tech industry, leading teams at corporate companies to drive business and enhance product operations and innovation, from the startup stage to commercialization. Wooldridgeserved as the COO/GTM Lead at Facebook’s Building 8 and Google’s Advanced Technology and Products Group (ATAP). Both are highly prestigious consumer hardware teams responsible for innovative consumer electronics. His extensive corporate expertise in hardware manufacturing and supply chain management will contribute to Airobotics’ expansion and scale.
“We’re very happy to have Richard on board during this exciting time of growth in our company,” said Krauss. “After securing $42.5 million in our latest funding round, we’ve begun to expand to new countries around the world and we’re continually working with new companies in various industrial fields. Richard is one of the world’s experts in scaling-up global business and his expertise will be vital as we enter our next phase of expansion.”
“I’m excited to join the Airobotics team and dive into the world of automated drones, that’s projected to have significant growth in the upcoming years,” said Wooldridge. “After personally investing in the company for many years and serving on Airobotics’ board of directors, I’ve witnessed firsthand how Airobotics has distinguished itself as the leader in automated drone solutions. I’m looking forward to helping navigate this startup’s future innovation.”
