Autel Robotics is a Chinese aerial drone manufacturer.
History
Autel Robotics was founded in 2014 in Shenzhen
by Maxwell Lee and Li Hongjing. Maxwell Lee is a
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
entrepreneur and Li Hongjing was formerly of
DJI.
Autel Robotics has received government funding and support from the Chinese government.
The company released its first drone called X-Star in 2015 in global markets. Notable product lines include the Evo and Dragon Fish series.
In 2021 Autel Robotics had a 7% share of the UAV market in the United States.
Its market share increased after leading rival DJI was restricted by the US government.
Along with DJI their drones have been widely acquired by US law enforcement and government agencies. Concerns have frequently been raised about potential risks associated with this use, but significant evidence of risk has not been presented and there is criticism of those concerns.
In 2023 at the
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
in
Las Vegas Autel Robotics made its intention to surpass DJI in both technology and market share known.
Organization
Autel is a subsidiary of Autel Intelligent Technology, also based in Shenzhen.
In 2023 Autel Robotics had offices in China, Italy, the United States, Germany, and Singapore.
The company's branch in the U.S. is located in Seattle.
Products
*EVO Nano+, ultra-light drone
*EVO Lite, light drone with a 4k camera. Small enough that a
FAA remote ID is not required
*EVO Lite +, light drone with a 5k camera
*Autel EVO II V3, most popular model in 2023
*Autel EVO Max, intended for the emergency response market
*EVO Max T4, intended to be a serious competitor to DJI's offering. It has increased autonomy, AI features, and an open architecture.
Features a thermal camera as standard.
*Dragonfish,
fixed wing drone with VTOL capabilities
*Dragonfish Lite, smaller version of the Dragonfish
*Dragonfish Pro, a long range variant of the Dragonfish
Users
*
U.S. Capitol Police
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...
, briefly operated Autel Robotics drones before being retired due to security concerns. The adoption of the drones was criticized by Senator
Ted Cruz
References
{{Reflist
Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers of China
Companies based in Shenzhen
Chinese companies established in 2014
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2014
Chinese brands