OVES Enterprise, a Cluj-Napoca-based software development and drone manufacturing company established in 2015, announced plans to expand its drone production and invest EUR 100,000 in a new line dedicated to manufacturing small-sized drones equipped with artificial intelligence. They will be capable of operating in larger groups (swarms), coordinated through centralized control systems.

“The capabilities of the new drones developed by OVES Enterprise meet the evolving dynamics of modern armed conflicts, which require very high-efficiency solutions, yet cheaper, and that can easily carry out important missions,” the company said.

The new production line currently serves a single drone model, Ajeet, designed to operate in groups. However, Ajeet can also function individually for various tasks, mainly involving surveillance and loitering.

OVES Enterprise said its new drone is intended for private companies in the defense sector, which have ongoing contracts and commitments to governmental organizations involved in multiple operations, as well as governments/militaries from different regions of the world.

Mihai Filip, CEO of OVES Enterprise, said: “Advancing in all these discussions about drones while maintaining a close connection with our partners in conflict zones, we realized that we need to build a drone model that can carry out important missions and, at the same time, use ‘swarming’ technology. In the near future, in theaters of operations, we will find swarms of drones carrying out complex missions. An intelligent way of fighting is to use small-sized drones, whose costs are in the order of hundreds of dollars, to neutralize, for example, tanks worth several million dollars.”

In addition to the hardware solution, OVES Enterprise also provides the software part of the drone and has integrated AI, which helps connect the drones, transmitting information from one drone to another.

The new drones can interpret information, make autonomous decisions during flight, and adapt how they fly. For example, the company says, if they detect threats during missions, they can decide to fly all very low and grouped or very spread out, depending on the nature of the threats.

“Our only limitation, when it comes to AI, is the hardware with which the drone is equipped. Even though we have created this successful model, our work does not stop here. We continue to train the AI for even more complex tasks, such as autonomously identifying military equipment or carrying out autonomous missions from one end to the other. In this case, where the flight takes place 100% autonomously, our drones can no longer be jammed,” Mihai Filip explained.

OVES Enterprise is currently developing 10 models of drones of different sizes, both with rotors and fixed wings. For this year, the company has a budget of EUR 2.5 million for product development and for continuing the process of international expansion, with a focus on areas such as Software as a Service, Space and Defense, and Cybersecurity.

Starting 2019, OVES’s strategy included offering more complex software development services for projects in the automotive, eCommerce, fintech, telecom, international governmental institutions, and more. Last year, it expanded its activity with a new business line focused on drone production.

Currently, more than half of the company’s turnover is generated by projects outside Romania, integrating new technologies from artificial intelligence and big data. OVES Enterprise now has over 200 employees and offices in Romania, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Norway.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the company)