FlightWave is excited to welcome MAPIR as the first official partnership in our Payload Partner Program. This new partnership offers the UAS industry a game-changing combination: easily configurable multispectral and high-resolution camera arrays on a versatile airframe.
The payload partner program is designed to quickly bring new payload options to market by sharing CAD files and engineering schematics with anyone who wants to integrate their sensors on our Edge™ UAS. “We picked MAPIR as our very first partner because their company shares our approach to serving the UAS marketplace,” explained FlightWave CMO Edmund Cronin. “We both see that customers need flexible, modular products that can be combined in innovative ways to help better achieve their missions.”
Both companies share the same modular design vision: FlightWave’s long-range Edge™ UAS allows entire payloads to be quickly swapped, while MAPIR offers arrays of fully customizable Kernel® cameras giving the pilot the ability to configure a single payload specifically for each project’s requirements.
At launch, MAPIR’s Kernel® cameras will be offered in either a 14.4MP RGB color or 3.2MP monochrome sensor option with matching lens field of view for easy survey planning. Each camera includes its own internal memory storage and connects to one another using the signal-distributing array link boards. Professional level shutter triggering and exposure feedback, along with precise onboard geotagging, allows for the highest accuracy using the newest GNSS solutions available.
“We’re excited to leverage the easily swappable payload capability of the FlightWave Edge™ UAS for our cameras — and FlightWave’s Payload Partner Program was amazingly easy for us to integrate with,” said MAPIR CEO Nolan Ramseyer. “Our Kernel® array cameras are used primarily in aerial surveying for industries like oil and gas, telecommunications and agriculture, so our customers need a reliable aircraft with the flight duration and portability that FlightWave offers.”
Thanks to the partnership, customers can save money by building an incremental, upgradeable system rather than having to buy a whole new platform as their needs change. The Edge™ airframe is being sold as a ready-to-fly package — with a special discounted price of $7,500USD for pre-orders (without a sensor payload). MAPIR’s Kernel® arrays will offer specific array payloads ranging from $2,049-$10,244USD, depending on the array configuration.