It’s no surprise, then, that the League started getting some attention from the Department of Defense.
Military applications, though, are very different from consumer considerations.
“The first thing that we created was a radio system that could never be jammed.
PDW drone midflight.PDW
We knew from traveling with DRL that radio signals were really fragile.”
They outperformed systems that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and they knew they were onto something.
Flash forward to today in 2024, and Gury’s company provides small robotics to replace air support.
PDW camera drone in flight.PDW
“It’s like a new Air Force, right?
With medium-sized quadcopters that come out of your backpack,” he said.
“And that’s just an amazing thing to participate in.
PDW camera drone in a soldier’s hands.PDW
Our guys are sent all over the world to do heroic work.
We want to be the great American small drone company.”
While PDW may have its roots in consumer and racing tech, these days it’s all military.
PDW drone at night.PDW
The quadcopters have to work on radio bands not allowed to consumers by the FCC.
They use thermal cameras and sensors for night work.
They must integrate with military tech like Ukraine’s medium-range quadcopter,the Baba Yaga.
Deploying a PDW drone from a backpack.PDW
You won’t find drones like that at Best Buy.
“That’s like asking a Prius to do the work of a Humvee,” Gury said.
They’re not limited by fixed-wing physics, either: these drones are more precise.
“A quadcopter is just a laser beam,” Gury said.
“It’s just the ultimate sensor.
It has no regard for aerodynamics.
There is no airfoil on it.
It just beats air into submission.
And it’s just a high-precision computer.
[This will] shape small robotics into the future.”
Not surprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is involved.
“[We allow] AI to supplement the cognitive burden of humans,” Gury said.
“I think AI often draws upon a fantasy world of dystopia.
I think our government in our State Department will manage that.
But for us, it’s just a tactical tool to help achieve the mission.”
It just does exactly what you want to do.
“That’s really what we do,” said Gury.
