Sentient Blue Technologies, a team from Parma, Italy, has won the $1 million grand prize in the GENIUS NY start-up competition for unmanned technology firms.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “The GENIUS NY competition is transforming the economic landscape of Central New York by attracting the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs. By investing in the unmanned aerial system businesses, we are ensuring that New York continues to establish itself as the leader in this burgeoning industry that is bringing jobs and economic growth to the Central New York region.”
Sentient Blue is an aerospace engineering company that is developing efficient, environmentally friendly micro gas turbine engines to increase sUAS flight times.
Its power systems can be attached to most larger drones (more than 20 pounds) on the market, including multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones, according to the company.
Sentient Blue says its engines will be able to more than double the time drones can stay in the air, from an average of about 30 minutes to more than an hour. The company is currently building prototypes of its motors and anticipates selling them to military and commercial customers.
