Smart drones and robotic security
What’s the best way to safeguard a one million square foot facility? For an increasing number of companies like GXO Logistics, the answer lies in automated robotic security. Rather than scaling up on-foot patrols and surveillance cameras, the global logistics provider turned to a less conventional method to monitor certain major distribution centers in the US. Today, GXO uses advanced air and ground security robotics – a combination of aerial drones and robot dogs – to protect its people and assets round-the-clock.
Asylon’s high-tech DroneSentry and DroneDog systems carry out automated observe-and-report patrols for customers like GXO, alerting key stakeholders about potential security breaches and issues in real time. Equipped with thermal and electro-optical cameras, drones take off from their DroneHome and fly over the property to deliver an eye-in-the-sky patrol presence before docking to swap batteries automatically. On the ground, they’re supported by remotely operated DroneDogs, which sweep the perimeter while also sending live footage back to the security operations center hundreds to thousands of miles away.
“A few years ago, we went to a conference for drones,” said Asylon’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Adam Mohamed. “There were hundreds of them, all looking pretty identical, yet it wasn’t clear how they would be used in the real world. Our vision was to design the infrastructure so that uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) could be used for good. The aim was to automate dull, dirty and dangerous missions. We saw that infrastructure was the missing piece of the puzzle to enable this. And it’s really this unique initial approach to build all the back-end hardware, software and infrastructure that has allowed us to jump years ahead from a regulatory, testing, and operational tempo perspective. We’ve completed tens of thousands of customer missions already and that number is growing every day.”
Thanks to Asylon, GXO operates one of the largest air and ground security robotics fleets in the world, with well over 12,000 reported alarm response and patrol missions completed. As demand for the company’s comprehensive security services grows, Asylon needed a platform capable of handling all product development and streamlining compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations on UAS design.
“Our previous systems weren’t sufficient for what our customers really needed for scale,” Mohamed said. “The 3DEXPERIENCE® platform is the ideal solution for bringing all our teams together within a single environment and delivering what we need to push the boundaries of aerospace and automation.”
Reliable, repeatable and certifiable processes
Founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers, Asylon’s roots are in the aerospace industry. Its systems are designed, engineered, manufactured, operated and serviced from its headquarters in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
“Safety and reliability are our key pillars,” Mohamed said. “We take that rigor and ethos all the way through our business. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is one part in which we’ve created scalable, repeatable and reliable development processes within the aerospace industry. This helps us with compliance as we work closely with the FAA.”
As part of its requirements, Asylon needed a private cloud to host the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, which its technology partner TECHNIA delivered.
“We wanted all the benefits of being ‘on cloud,’ particularly in terms of not having to maintain a server infrastructure,” Mohamed explained. “But because of the nature of what we do and the types of organizations we serve, we’re very specific about where we host our data. Thanks to TECHNIA, we have our own private cloud to ensure data integrity for customers.”
With the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we have all the information we need on hand to quickly identify any issues and catch them prior to build. It takes any guesswork out of the process and makes us faster.
System of systems design
Asylon’s automated security solutions are suitable for all manner of industries, covering commercial and government entities from manufacturing and government facilities to large warehouses. Critically, to ensure its customers get the most from the technology, the company provides a complete security service, combining configured hardware (aerial drones and robot dogs) and software (its DroneIQ command and control platform) to enable remote command and control to act as a force multiplier for security teams.
“We take a holistic approach,” Mohamed said. “We sit down with customers to understand their pain points and learn what security features they need. If we just sold our drones, they could easily end up gathering dust on a shelf. So instead we provide an end-to-end security as a service, all packaged up within the DroneCore Robotic Perimeter Security platform.”
Asylon uses CATIA to design its drones and battery-swapping infrastructure as well as the PupPack and DogHouse that enables Spot from Boston Dynamics to carry out security roles. All hardware is constantly refined and configured to suit each customer’s specific requirements.
“CATIA is designed to create an entire aircraft, so for us it’s the ideal tool,” Mohamed said. “Take our base station with the automated battery slot. It’s a ballet of robotic systems that must all work seamlessly together. And then we have multiple variants and payloads, as well as all the moving parts on the drone with its various mechanical subsystems. We must be able to see each part we’re designing within the context of the entire system. To be able to do all that within CATIA is invaluable.”
On-demand access to technical data
To small businesses like Asylon, one of the most important resources is time. Core ways to gain time are through effective communication and operational efficiencies.
Today, through the ENOVIA app on the platform, all divisions within Asylon can securely access the insights they need to carry out their roles effectively. The goal is to make it easier for departments outside of engineering to get hold of technical data quickly. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform helps all stakeholders feel empowered to review designs and bring their own insights to the table, helping to catch pain points and break down barriers from one development stage to the next.
“We now carry out holistic design reviews, enabling the Engineering team to get early feedback from our Operations and Field Maintenance teams,” Mohamed explained. “With the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we have all the information we need on hand to quickly identify any issues and catch them prior to build. It takes any guesswork out of the process and makes us faster.”
Scaling up security operations
With tens of thousands of customer missions under its belt, Asylon continues to push the boundaries of what its robotic security technology can do.
“We’re taking concerted steps to ramp up our operations,” Mohamed said. “We have had a 100% year-over-year increase in missions and are nearing the 40,000 mark. Drone years are like dog years on steroids, you have to be able to innovate quickly and reliably.”
Already, the company is saving significant time across its development processes and accelerating its innovation cycles.
“We’re saving hours every week,” Mohamed said. “We’re replicating workflows and delivering a uniform product every single time.”
For Asylon, this is just the beginning for where its business is heading.
“We’re growing fast, and rapid iteration and innovation means we can continue to do more and more for customers,” Mohamed concluded. “There’s a real sense of excitement around what we’re doing, and we see a great deal of value in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Everyone across the business is motivated to use this new tool better.”
00:00 – 00:22
Adam Mohamed, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Asylon:
We're going to make robotics a commonplace thing, just like your vacuum, your car. It's going to run, it's going to operate. It's going to dull the dirty, the dangerous, monotonous tasks we do every day. It'll do it better, faster and more consistently than we will, any day of the week.
00:23 – 01:26
Damon Henry, Co-Founder and CEO, Asylon:
So we started Asylon with the goal of providing full stack robotics that provide true value to customers and, ultimately, do good. Our product, DroneCore is simply a robotic perimeter security solution. Every half hour to an hour the robot automatically goes out on its patrols, think patrolling fence lines, responding to alarms, any sort of security needs for the site. And then while it's doing that, it's streaming all the security video, the analytics in real time to that client's security team so that they have the best information possible. As a drone company, the FAA regulations are paramount for us. We have to be able to prove we have the policies and procedures in place to not only just build, but design, build and then, ultimately, operate our aircraft in a safe manner within the national airspace. And it was a natural migration to start to use CATIA to design our product. And we saw 3DEXPERIENCE and the ability for it to be that compliance standpoint, right? Getting to design, to manufacturing, to operations and having a single platform where there's the proper controls and everything you need to ensure your products comply.
01:27 – 02:21
Adam Mohamed:
You can make the safest design in the world, but if you can't prove it with the data, without the processes, it's worthless. Having 3DEXPERIENCE, let's us say, "Okay, here's the definitive version." Everyone can access what they need from it and I'll get feedback from everyone. It's the engineers. It's the manufacturers, it's the maintainers, it's the operators. They all have a say in the process now. Earlier on, easier to digest. It's not a design review in a conference room. So it accelerates our innovation, our ability to get to a working-end-state faster. We have to deliver to the FAA something called an MDL, or master data list, which says, here is what you need to build a drone. Having that readily available is actually really difficult for most companies. And 3DEXPERIENCE gives us that opportunity to do so, in a way that's effective and, more importantly, like in a releasable state. 3DEXPERIENCE gives us that option to lock that configuration because that's what FAA cares about, is not whether you can build one aircraft, it's whether you can build a 100 aircraft the same way every time, with the same parts.
02:22 – 02:46
Damon Henry:
We've been operating this kind of full stack solution for for a little over two and a half years now in the security profile. And, you know, we're happy to boast over 35,000 commercial drone flights, which means we're learning faster, our products are getting better, and we're just accelerating that much more as we kind of grow and learn in the space.
Focus on Asylon
Asylon is a full-service air and ground robotic perimeter security company. Asylon partners with commercial and government entities to modernize traditionally inefficient security practices. By providing customers with the most advanced, American-made, robotic security technology, Asylon helps to ensure that both government and private-sector companies can protect their people, assets and profits against threats. With a remote 24/7/365 Robotic Security Operations Center (RSOC), they have teleoperated tens of thousands of security drone missions and patrolled thousands of miles with security robot dogs.
Learn more by visiting AsylonRobotics.com or stay connected with Asylon at LinkedIn and YouTube.
Focus on TECHNIA
TECHNIA paves the way for innovation, creativity and profitability. The global virtual twin and engineering expert partner is committed to making technology and innovation work in a practical world. This is demonstrated by the resources that it applies to developing exceptional capability in the latest software and process developments. TECHNIA learns before its customers have to, seeking out and identifying the advantages that new products and processes can offer, often within its own business before applying it to its customers.
For more information: www.technia.com