Iris Automation raises $1.5 million to help drones sense and avoid obstacles

Iris Automation Inc. has raised $1.5 million to bring "sense and avoid" technology, and truly self-flying capabilities, to drones used for industrial tasks. Even for human pilots, identifying obstacles and deciding precisely how to maneuver a fast-flying aircraft around them poses a serious challenge. Iris' technology analyzes and draws insights from videos captured by cameras on-board a drone in real time. "We're designing this to work like a human pilot's vision and decision-making process," says Iris Automation CEO and cofounder Alexander Harmsen. Iris Automation, a Y Combinator company, is not alone in the quest to develop computer vision systems that can make unmanned aerial vehicles, and eventually other robotics and vehicles, truly autonomous.