In an exclusive interview with Rob Cammack, CEO of SmartDrone, a trailblazer in the drone manufacturing industry, insights were shared on the company’s journey, its innovative solutions, and the future of commercial drones in a changing global landscape.
Discovery 3
Founded in February 2020, just before the world ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SmartDrone faced unprecedented challenges as a startup. “It was really a lot to work through for a startup when you were locked down and couldn’t really access your customers or get your engineering team together in a physical location,” Cammack explained. Yet, these challenges also birthed unexpected opportunities. Supply chain disruptions prompted the company to enhance in-house development, significantly strengthening its manufacturing resilience.
SmartDrone, based in Tyler, Texas, prides itself on its three main business divisions: manufacturing, services, and soon-to-launch data processing. Their flagship product, the Discovery 3 integrated LiDAR platform, was developed closely with land surveyors to ensure it meets their specific needs. “We interviewed over 50 land surveyors during development… it’s the easiest platform for a land surveyor. They can learn it in less than a day, be doing jobs that day, and create their own deliverables the next day,” Cammack noted.
