Ex-NASA Engineer's Drone Fleet Finds, Diagnoses, and Fights Wildfires as a Team
alex_verem · x · 2026-09-11
Iwa Robotics, founded by ex-NASA JPL engineer Mirza Samnani, unveiled a three-drone fleet for wildfire response: HAWK for long patrols, CANARY for sensor-based fire diagnostics, and PELICAN for autonomous suppression at hot spots.
The design splits "find, understand, hit" across three purpose-built aircraft. Sold as a full-service subscription covering aircraft, training, data, maintenance, and insurance. Touring fire agencies across eight states.
Caveats: no published range, flight time, payload, smoke/wind performance, or FAA authorizations; line-of-sight rules constrain wide-area patrols. Rivals Rain (autonomous Black Hawk water drops) and Dryad (sub-12-minute autonomous detection and suppression) are already in the space.
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