Members since: August 2016
Who: Robby de Candido and Magnus Lundmark
Where: Helio Kista
Founded: 2016
In August 2016, Robby de Candido and Magnus Lundmark moved in with us in Kista. They brought what most people would call “complicated equipment” and their startup Skysense with them. We asked Robby a couple of questions to find out what they are doing with all that equipment in their studio, and how they ended up in Kista.
– We develop tracking chips for drones, that’s the short answer. The longer one is that the tracking technology that public aviation uses is too expensive, heavy and energy consuming to be attached to a drone, and that was the gap in the market that needed to be filled.
During the fall of 2015, Robby and Magnus started programming, soldering and testing small prototypes by hand, and by spring 2016 they had a product that was small and energy sufficient enough to be attached to drones, and that wouldn’t cost a fortune to produce.
– Simply put, our product which is actually a circuit card, eliminates the conflict between aviation and drone traffic by creating visibility between the traffic means.
Want to create more user areas
The lack of coexistence with other aircrafts has led to limitations on the development of drones to its full extent, something that Robby de Candido wants to change.
–There are many benefits that still aren’t being used because of regulatory obstacles. It’s mostly where drones operate very far away where the remote pilot can’t see it with the eye, but has to rely on the technology onboard the aircraft (cameras, radio equipment, radar, etc.). Two examples on this are inspections of high tension electricity lines in the wilderness, or the rescue efforts in the archipelago. Our product enables drones to be seen by a regular plane.
Investment from Flightradar24
Robby believes that on the longer term, in five to ten years, there will be infrastructure that’s monitored by authorities, that will enable drones to operate in large amounts, both above cities and country sides, and will perform tasks that will make our lives simpler and will contribute to a more effective society. Other than himself, the aircraft observer company Flightradar24 also thinks the future looks bright. With its 1.5 million daily users, they chose to invest a multimillion amount in Skysense.
– With Flightradar24 we gained a partner with a strong brand in the aircraft industry, actually a lot stronger than you would think. It gives us credibility we would otherwise not have.
The fact that the company ended up in Kista is no coincidence. It’s Europe’s biggest cluster of IT companies and both consultants and clients are reachable within walking distance.
– As a tech company, this is what one wants to be. We are surrounded by all kinds of people in our offices, and it’s never far away to get to people with cutting edge competence we might need help from one day.
Read more about our location in Kista or about a membership at Helio.
