The firm styles itself as “the Uber for drones” and Caska says pilots on its books are earning from A$80 to A$150 or more per hour across the Tasman, depending on the type of work, and can expect similar remuneration here.
Like the actual Uber, Aerologix takes a clip of the ticket - 30 per cent - as it matches clients with drone operators.
The firm operates on two levels. Its basic version lets a customer post a job - say, taking drone footage of a wedding - then pilots bid for the work (meaning that, strictly speaking, Airtasker or Builderscrack might make a better analogy).
Then there’s a more corporate version, which co-founder Tom Caska says is more like a “concierge service”, where Aerologix handles data processing and project management.
Its hero client on this tier is Nokia Networks, which uses drone operators on Aerologix’s platform (such as the drone in the clip above) to inspect gear on thousands of cell towers over a huge geographic area.
Caska says a number of his firm’s infrastructure clients - including Nokia and Downer - also have operations on this side of the Tasman, which has been one of the drivers behind the NZ launch.
But the firm is also looking for drone pilots for one-off jobs, and has today launched a $5000 drone footage competition to help goose recruitment.
Aerologix’s network has also been called into action to take drone footage after various instances of flooding across the Tasman, to help clients from first responders to insurance companies assess the scale of an event, and the damage.
Smashed
After his kite surfing accident, Caska was flown by air ambulance to Sydney, but suffered permanent nerve damage that resulted in him losing his pilot’s licence.
Now grounded, he developed an interest in drones and became chief pilot and head of unmanned aerial vehicle operations for Surf Life Saving NSW, wrangling New South Wales’ largest fleet of drones.
“It let me still use at least a few of my aviation skills,” Caska says.
He also went back to school, studying for an MBA at the University of New South Wales. Taking the same course was Rakesh Routhu, co-founder of a drone “swarm management” startup called R2 Robotics.
Aerologix co-founders Rakesh Routhu (left) and Tom Caska. Photo / Supplied
The pair struck up a friendship and came up with the idea of creating “An Uber for drones”.
They relocated to Bangalore, India, to work on software for the platform, then moved back to NSW to launch their firm - Aerologix - in 2019, just months before the pandemic hit.
Covid did not dampen its launch, drones being the ultimate in social distancing when assessing infrastructure or flood damage.
Caska during his time as a Qantas pilot. Photo / Supplied
Caska says more than 1000 pilots were “able to make a living” on the Aerologix platform during the early stages of the pandemic.
Today, Aerologix has more than 25,000 drone operators on its books across the Tasman.
Caska is aiming to sign up several hundred in NZ.
Caska in an air ambulance to Sydney after the kite surfing accident in Cairns that shattered seven vertebrae and came within half a millimetre of severing his spinal cord. Photo / Supplied
As in Australia, drone pilot certification is required (it’s wrangled on this side of the Tasman by the Civil Aviation Authority).
A wannabe Aerologix operator must also have a drone with at least a 20 megapixel camera. Insurance is mandatory and at the pilot’s expense. Potential customers can see criteria such as each pilot’s flying hours and level of qualifications.
Why go through a middleman?
Caska says Nokia used to deal with 30 different drone operators, but prefers to deal with a single firm that can project manage its cell tower inspections and summarise all the data.
And drone operators who sign up also get free access to several bits of software developed by Aerologix, including technology that will automatically fly the drone for the pilot to navigate complex jobs such as manoeuvring around telecommunication towers, and a platform that allows several streams of video captured from different drones to be shared on a single dashboard.
Packer backing
Aerologix has previously raised A$5.7m, with most of its funding coming from Aussie rich-lister James Packer via Ellerston Capital.
It’s now seeking to raise US$5m, which is earmarked for expansion into more overseas markets including North America and Asia.
