Kittyhawk Adds Risk Assessments to Drone Operations Platform

San Francisco-based Kittyhawk has added a new risk assessment system and workflow to its drone operations management system.

Developed in collaboration with CNN AIR, CNN’s aerial data services company, the risk assessment feature formalizes the process of keeping log books or spreadsheets. It assigns risk scores and records the conditions and circumstances surrounding a mission – e.g., the state of the pilot, the state of the aircraft, airspace surroundings and other flight conditions.

“Companies need a clean, standardized method to approve flights and plan their missions,” says Jon Hegranes, CEO and co-founder of Kittyhawk. “Kittyhawk risk assessments leverage data that Kittyhawk already knows about the pilot, conditions and location – giving operators a new level of quantifiable awareness to their upcoming flights.”

Available now for all premium customers, the risk assessments are based on a scoring system using predictive analytics of prior pilot missions and upcoming flight condition data. They’re made of two elements: 1) the initial risk assessment, designed to be initiated in the planning phase of a mission to help pilots gauge the risk of the mission and assess if different pilots or aircraft may be needed given the circumstances and 2) the pre-flight risk assessment, which is designed to be taken immediately before takeoff and takes into account more real-time data around airspace and weather, as well as pilot health and well-being.