American Robotics to scoop up rail inspection platform Ardenna

Industrial drone solutions provider American Robotics has reached an agreement to acquire Ardenna, a Virginia-based firm providing AI-powered analytics software for the rail industry. The acquisition would enable American Robotics to offer autonomous drone-in-a-box solutions to railways.

American Robotics, a subsidiary of Ondas Holdings, estimates the global total addressable market for drone-in-a-box in rail to be $6.8 billion. In North America alone, there are over 200,000 miles of rail track and hundreds of railyards that require regular monitoring and inspection to ensure safety.

Ardenna’s software uses advanced machine-learning algorithms to automatically process and analyze visual data captured during drone surveys, identifying and measuring railway features, classifying anomalies, and assessing the health of track and railbed infrastructure.

This is why Reese Mozer, the cofounder and CEO of American Robotics, is thrilled about joining forces with Ardenna. Here’s Mozer:

Ardenna is a leading provider of rail-focused machine learning and SaaS software. Together, we can offer the end-to-end data solution that the rail industry has been waiting for, enabling new efficiencies and increased safety.

It also helps that with this strategic acquisition, American Robotics will begin to work with major rail industry companies, including Ardenna’s current customers, which are among the largest freight railroad networks in North America.

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As David Gingras, president of Bihrle Applied Research, parent company of Ardenna, sums up:

American Robotics’ drone platform, combined with Ardenna’s state of the art technology, provides a comprehensive solution to properly deliver and scale analytics technology to rail customers. Our team is excited that this technology, developed by Bihrle Applied Research, combined with American Robotics’ industry-leading autonomous drone solution, will provide value and increased safety to the rail industry.

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