Aware Vehicles accelerates pilot-free drone development thanks to IgniteX partnership with Black & Veatch

Drones are one step closer to becoming completely automated with the help of Aware Vehicles, a finalist in the IgniteX Accelerator. 

The Kansas City-based tech startup focuses on non-human interaction for the flight, charge and data collection of drones, emphasized PJ Piper, CEO of Aware Vehicles and founder of QM Power. 

PJ Piper, Aware Vehicles

“You get the eye in the sky and that added intelligence,” he said. “Our vision is to make it capable for these drones to be fully autonomous and it enables for a much greater collection of data. If something can fly without a person involved, it could keep flying either around the clock or every day.”

“We think it is going to unleash a significant wave of drone adoptions for various applications,” Piper added.

Autonomous drones can help with many tasks that employees typically execute, from agriculture to architecture, he said. 

“Artificial intelligence [is used] to derive these really wonderful insights about identifying crop stress and saving a field, or being able to identify internal damage protection in bridges or buildings, and things like that,” Piper said.

Click here to read more about Aware Vehicles and its mission to develop drone technology. 

Aware was among seven companies selected for the IgniteX Accelerator — sponsored by Black & Veatch and powered by LaunchKC — and the only Kansas City startup in the cohort.

“We view [IgniteX] as a way to accelerate the adoption of sustainable infrastructure,” said Hyleme George, IgniteX director. “We see it as an opportunity for both Black and Veatch and the participating companies to grow their business and advance.”

PJ Piper, Aware Vehicles; and ZhiQiang Chen, University of Missouri-Kansas City

To be accepted to join the accelerator, Aware was chosen from among 120 applicants in a highly competitive process, he said.

“What we really appreciate about Aware Vehicles is that there is a lot of publicity and hype around the use of unmanned aerial vehicles,” said George. “What Aware is trying to do is automate some of those manual activities that are associated with the operation of the done. If we are able to do that [charge, fly and operate drones] it really increases our ability to utilize the technology.”

Each finalist in the accelerator receives a valuable 75-day collaboration with Black & Veatch, as well as an equity investment from the Kansas City-based global leader in engineering, procurement and construction services for energy, water and telecommunications.

“The bigger value is the collaboration with Black & Veatch… the opportunity to accelerate deployment of their technology out to our project sites,” George said. “They have the ability to refine their offerings with real-world-use cases.” 

Click here to learn more about the IgniteX Cleantech Accelerator and its inaugural cohort. 

Aware’s team is excited to participate in the IgniteX Accelerator, emphasized Piper.

“We could not be happier about this and we are trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” he said. “I almost don’t think of it as an accelerator as much as a partnership with Black & Veatch to develop and demonstrate something. … We can really establish the basis for continuing ongoing strategic relationships throughout the infrastructure business.”