Patent issued for adaptive autonomous aircraft
system that can be rapidly configured with different performance
and capabilities using modular payload systems
Aevum, Inc., a provider of autonomous transport services, which
includes its space launch business, announced today the issuance of
its US Patent No. US10994842, Adaptive Autonomous Aircraft System
with Modular Payload Systems on May 4, 2021.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210518005919/en/
Aevum's autonomous aircraft, Ravn X, is
the largest drone, or unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in the world,
by mass. It is designed to carry different patented modular
payloads - including an air cargo module roughly the same size and
capacity as an 18-wheeler, a drone delivery module complete with
264 smaller drones, and a space launch module while can transport
satellites to lower Earth orbit. (Photo: Business Wire)
Photos accompanying this release are available at
https://app.box.com/s/7htzv13qigdwi4n9x32vx09az4itvti1
Five years old as a company, Aevum only recently came out of
stealth, announcing its space launch services in 2019. Within six
months, Aevum had won nearly $1 billion in publicly announced
contracts from various customers, including from the US Department
of Defense. “Finally, with the issuance of this patent, Aevum can
accelerate the rollout of our launch, air cargo, and drone delivery
services – and talk about them,” said Jay Skylus, founder and CEO
of Aevum. “Aevum’s services will integrate into the current
logistics infrastructure and increase the last-mile capabilities,
expand serviceable areas, and add space launch service offerings of
already successful logistics giants. We’re pretty good at the
science in space [launch], but when it comes to unprecedented
efficiency, I wanted to enable the industry giants. This is what
Aevum’s patent has just accomplished - these logistics leaders can
deliver to space for you now.”
Aevum’s business model includes partnering with current
ecommerce and logistics providers as well as providing its
autonomous transportation, software, and technologies as a service.
Aevum’s patented technology enables the expansion of existing
logistics infrastructure into the space domain, additional hub
nodes and spokes in the distribution paradigm, and dynamic
destinations – as opposed to static destinations using physical
addresses – to cover destinations that previously weren’t
economically possible, including space destinations in orbit. “What
we’ve patented is the next layer and large batch of connections in
the global logistics infrastructure. Space logistics shouldn't be
separated from logistics that already exist,” said Skylus. "A
single Ravn X will be capable of moving millions of different
things, which vary in mass, size, functionality, etc., from point A
to B, both around the world and into space, simply by swapping out
the type of payload module it carries on its belly.”
Aevum’s unmanned aircraft system (UAS), Ravn X, is the largest
drone in the world, by mass. It has a gross takeoff weight of
55,000 lbs., roughly 25,000 kg. All it requires for takeoff, be it
for space launch and now for air transport, is a mile-long runway,
a hangar and regular jet fuel. With its fleet of autonomous
vehicles, Aevum will offer scheduling of precision, express
deliveries, ordered from a computer or mobile phone via Aevum’s
Space Portal ℠, in as fast as 180 minutes for launch,
without risk to human lives.
Aevum is also tackling asset utilization in space launch and air
cargo with unprecedented efficiency. Assuming that a typical
reusable booster flies approximately 16 minutes per launch mission,
at a single launch per month, the best reused rocket boosters see
no more than 4 hours of total flight time in a year, leaving these
expensive assets sitting around underutilized for well over 8,000
hours annually. On the other hand, the most efficient air cargo
companies will utilize their planes up to 15 hours per day, 5,475
hours annually. Aevum’s UAS fleet will run nearly 24/7 year-round
giving new depth to reusability. “In my company, what matters is
asset utilization. For any reusable flying machine, it doesn’t
generate revenue on the ground. My machines will fly around the
clock, every day, ” said Skylus.
For any logistics provider, two major expenses include the cost
of labor and fuel. Aevum’s autonomous transport distribution
paradigm reduces labor costs by 90% and fuel costs by flying direct
to more destinations. Aevum is able to air transport direct to more
destinations because its cargo capacity per flight is 15,000 lbs.,
comparable capacity to an 18-wheeler traveling by road, which can
be filled and distributed outside of the classic hub-spoke
distribution paradigm. However, Aevum’s Ravn X moves cargo at 600
mph, over 10 times faster than an 18-wheeler. “The 15,000 lbs cargo
capacity per flight is low enough to enable the company to offer a
minimum allowed package size and weight that makes air delivery
services affordable to consumers – not just large corporations and
government, ” said Skylus.
Unique to the autonomous distribution model and its patented
technology, Aevum will open air cargo transport options to rural
and underutilized markets, which could have significant economic
implications for regional airports, smaller job markets. In
addition to this expansion of serviceable destinations, Aevum will
begin its personal delivery services through its patented drone
module. The company’s Ravn X, with the drone module attached, can
carry up to 264 smaller drones, each carrying individual packages
and weighing up to 55 lbs. The Ravn X will then fly up to 14,000
feet in the air, just outside of a city center, and air release the
smaller drones. Deploying them from a higher altitude than current
last-mile technologies, Aevum utilizes gravity and basic physics to
give the smaller drones significantly farther range, truly kicking
off the personal delivery market.
“Imagine if you could get your package delivered when rounding
the corner on your walk to work,” said Skylus. “As you approach the
corner, Aevum’s app will notify you that your package is inbound.
You turn the corner, and an Aevum drone gently sets your package in
front of you. Deliveries are no longer limited to physical
addresses. If you’ve got a smartphone, we can deliver to where it’s
most convenient to you.”
“After setting the package down in front of you, our package
drone flies away to an Aevum-designated collection location, likely
an underutilized space like the rooftops of city buildings. Then,
Aevum’s mobile app will notify gig workers about retrieval, charge,
and deploy tasks. So, if you’re good at collecting, charging, and
deploying scooters, look out for Aevum’s package drone tasks!”
In 2020, Aevum posted a seven-figure profit. The company is
still on track for its first launch with the U.S. Space Force.
Aevum continues to grow a global customer manifest of both
commercial and government contracts.
About Aevum, Inc.
Aevum enables existing logistics infrastructure to deliver
anywhere, including space. Aevum automates the entire mission
management and delivery process of payloads into low Earth orbit,
and now air cargo delivery around the world. Learn more at
www.aevumspace.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210518005919/en/
Emily O’Brien emily.obrien@aevum.us, media@aevum.us or
720.454.3770