Airobotics raises 28.5M to pursue autonomous drone platforms for heavy industry

Drones have numerous applications in security, inspection, and other major roles at industrial facilities, but in many cases manual control is still the standard. Tel Aviv-based Airobotics aims to automate the process as an alternative to costly and involved human pilots, and has raised 28.5 million to do so. The company's solution is to provide hardware and software focused on needs specific to industry -- this isn't a drone for filming concerts or monitoring brush fires, it's for on-location missions like perimeter patrols and regular safety inspections. Of course, humans do that stuff now for the most part. But if a drone can take temperature readings of vents from 50 feet out, and check all of them every hour, why employ a full-time worker? Well, actually, because at some point you need to have human involvement -- but it doesn't need to be quite so hands-on all the time.