Duke Robotics is entering Israel’s energy market by partnering with Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for its utility maintenance. Duke aims to bring its robotic and drone-enabled system to Israel. The new IC Drone system will undertake the task currently accomplished with helicopter fleets and crane trucks. IC Drone is seen as a safer and more cost-effective substitute.
The design of IC Drone system is to maintain and clean electric utility insulators. It is noteworthy that this system is, to some extent, based on the company’s military platform Tikad. Duke Robotics brought the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform Tikad to the market in 2014. Initially designed for military purposes, it was laced with the remote monitoring and operation of a sniper drone armed with lightweight firearms. But with expanding tech applications, new use cases including delivery and maintenance tasks have also come to the fore. The commercial sale of the IC Drone systems will begin in 2023.
While Duke Robotics started off in 2014 as a subsidiary of robotics and drone company UAS Drone Corp, IEC is the largest national electricity utility company in Israel. This collaboration offers the first chance for Duke Robotics to have a civilian application of its technology.
The CEO of UAS Drone, Yossef Balucka said, “We believe our high-performance, mission-critical drone technology and know-how have untapped potential in the civilian market.” He further added, “IC Drone, for electrical infrastructure maintenance, is the first product that will be released in the civilian market.”
