Cleo Robotics, the developer of the Dronut aerial vehicle platform, has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to deliver a number of prototype Tactical Dronut, or TacDronut, systems for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capability.
The contract, valued at $2.5M, was awarded by the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) after the technology was selected during an Army Innovation Day competition evaluation of disruptive and innovative technologies to address required critical capabilities.
Boston-based Cleo Robotics specializes in the development of intelligent, unconventional robotic systems for operation in dangerous and challenging environments, with a focus on autonomy, data capture and data processing, and analytics.
The company's Dronut X1 is a commercial sUAS for inspecting confined spaces and hard to reach areas in factories and industrial facilities, currently being used by many Fortune 500 companies.
Earlier this year, Robotics 24/7 featured Cleo Robotics in its round-up of interesting MassRobotics resident startups to watch.
Army looking to Cleo Robotics to bring technological disruption
Army RCCTO specializes in executing rapid prototyping and initial equipping of strategically important capabilities.
“Partnering with a company like Cleo Robotics allows the Army RCCTO to bring disruptive capabilities to the warfighter. Working through our Innovation Day process paired this approach to a unit of action,” said Robert Monto, Jr., deputy director of Critical Technologies Office (CTO) and Advanced Concepts and Experimentation (ACE) of the Army RCCTO.
As soldiers are required to operate in more congested and contested environments, next-generation small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) that can operate in buildings, tunnels, and other enclosed spaces are critical to mission success on the battlefield.
The TacDronut is a compact, lightweight, and rugged sUAS based on Cleo's next-generation Dronut technology.
“We developed the Dronut specifically to operate in challenging environments and provide lifesaving intelligence and information, so the TacDronut program is a natural progression for this technology,” said Omar Eleryan, founder and CEO at Cleo Robotics. “This endorsement by the U.S. Army is a great testament to the groundbreaking technology we're building, and we're thrilled to be working with the Army RCCTO team and Soldiers from an elite group like the 82nd Airborne Division.”
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