Drone manufacturer, AUTEL ENTERPRISE, announced its “Made in USA” EVO II Dual Bundles on September 3, 2020. Despite the fact that Autel itself is from China, the label “Made in USA” emphasizes that their product will have an advantage over drones manufactured anywhere else than in the U.S. Since the giant in the field is DJI, a Chinese company, such a label most likely is used in reference to drones of Chinese origin.
The concern by the U.S. over Chinese drone technologies has been very challenging for DJI. In spite of the attempt by the Chinese to show critical evaluations to demonstrate the security of its products (especially its Government Edition drones) the U.S. government was not convinced. As a result, The Department of Interior has banned the use of drones made in China or drones containing Chinese parts over data security concerns.
Autel Robotics provides its users with the opportunity to use aircraft manufactured in the U.S. with foreign and domestic parts and labor. CEO Gary DeLuca put it:
“We notified our dealers that the change in manufacturing is effective immediately, and this new series of bundles does not impact our ability to ship existing stock. We have been making running changes to the product line in order to accommodate our customer needs since the day we initially released the product.”*
DeLuca added:
“We also source the majority of our bundle components from U.S. manufacturers such as FoxFury, GPC, TacSwan, and others. Our software and other components are predominantly also from domestic and NATO suppliers. We’re deeply focused on shifting the product program to a Made in USA direction. We brought in outside consultants to assist us in identifying resources and processes that bring us closer to our American roots.”*
The Autel EVO IITM Dual is designed to make it easier for public safety personnel to identify persons and objects in difficult environments, such as darkness and/or through smoke or fog. The EVO IITM Duel provides public safety personnel an IR camera with the highest resolution that is available. In addition, the IR camera has a second, separately functioning 8K resolution RGB camera, which provides police and fire personnel with impressive detail and zoom capability, as well as a 40 minute flight time and the ability to stream video to any command location or MDT (mobile data terminal) when it is joined with the Autel LiveDeckTM.
Autel EVO IITM Dual does reflect its international flavor since its airframe comes from China, the IR/thermal cameras from FLIR in the U.S., Sony images from Japan, while the final product is assembled in Bothell, WA with American labor.
DeLuca explains:
“We also source the majority of our bundle components from US manufacturers such as FoxFury, GPC, TacSwan, and others. Our software and other components are predominantly also from domestic and NATO suppliers. We’re deeply focused on shifting the product program to a Made in USA direction. We brought in outside consultants to assist us in identifying resources and processes that bring us closer to our American roots.”*
DeLuca proudly explains how the Autel aircraft functions:
“We are also proud to share that our solution does not require LTE for operations. Whether intelligent flight, or manual flight, our systems function without connecting to a server inside or outside CONUS.
Autel aircraft may be flown without connecting a mobile device, as the remote control offers a 3.3” display for FPV. When connected to a mobile device for preview and autonomous flight modes, the mobile device may be put into airplane/no-data mode once local maps have been downloaded for mission planning.”*
John Kuch, public sector sales manager and former Fairfax County investigator, addresses privacy and safety issues:
“Autel prides itself on ensuring that user data remains private. Users are not required to sign up for an account, and are not required to input any data that they do not want shared. Data security combined with our domestic manufacturing efforts provide a safe, secure, and efficient environment for any public safety agency with our Autel EVO IITM Dual platform.”*
The debate over cybersecurity continues. Some point out that while the vast majority of what drones capture, such as forests, animals, water, construction sites, are not geopolitically or militarily sensitive, there can be circumstances where a highly secure platform is required.
Future
The Autel EVO IITM Dual is another great addition to the drone industry as it is aimed foremost at safety — First Responders and other Enterprise users. It provides public safety personnel an IR camera with the highest resolution that is available at this time. It is designed to make it easier for public safety personnel to identify persons and objects in difficult environments, such as darkness and/or through smoke or fog.
The separately functioning 8K resolution RGB camera provides police and fire personnel with impressive detail and zoom capability, as well as a 40 minute flight time and the ability to stream video to any command location or MDT (mobile data terminal).
