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Aersys Inc, commonly referred to as Aersys, is a U.S. based early-stage tech startup that plans to develop a network of automated MicroFulfillment Centers to enable commercial-scale automated delivery with drones, rovers and other vehicles. The startup, incorporated on January 1, 2018, does not have any notable revenue.

Operations
Kiwi uses three kinds of robots: one to collect prepared orders from the restaurant, a semi-autonomous tricycle in which orders are sorted and taken most of the way to the delivery point, and a small four-wheeled "Kiwibot", which can carry up to five orders and four of which can fit aboard the tricycle, that navigates the last approximately 300 meters to the customer. The company claims an average delivery time of 27 minutes. The Kiwibots have digitally animated eyes; the customer gestures to cause the hatch to open.

The delivery robots have six cameras and binocular vision for navigation and hazard avoidance and are largely autonomous; human operators at the company's center in Bogotá take control when needed, such as when crossing streets. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning, including deep learning, and autonomously modify their speed on sidewalks depending on the proximity of people. Initially an iPhone on top of the robot was the primary sensor, robots had to be trained with repeated runs on each route, and rough sidewalks caused problems for the small wheels, requiring careful human monitoring.

History
Aersys Inc. was founded by two Rutgers University students, Vallab Nayak (CEO) and Hariharan Vijayakumar (CTO). Both are currently seniors at the School of Engineering at Rutgers University.

During a pitch hosted by the investor coalition TechLaunch in April 2019, the student team made their first public case. Speaking about food and parcel delivery, Nayak said "Customers these days expect low-cost, flexible and fast deliveries.” Delivering via regular vehicles isn’t fast and it isn’t inexpensive. Drone deliveries are a good alternative, but they’re limited because they can’t go very far, said the team. Companies will need to build their own infrastructure networks. If they build those networks themselves, however, they will face the costs associated with building and maintenance. There are other problems, too: A new type of drone could end up making their infrastructure obsolete. If several companies compete for the same area, they will cause clutter and frustrate local residents. And the incentives the companies would have to offer to stand out from the crowd would be too expensive. The team’s solution: “We solve all this by building a single network of universally compatible, scalable and automated micro-fulfillment centers that will help drive the adoption of drones.” The centers would be modular and easily upgradable. Stephen Socolof, managing partner at Tech Council Ventures (New Brunswick) and a panelist at the event, recommended that the team decide whether they want to be a technology developer or infrastructure provider. “Those are two different propositions, and I think the former would be easier for you to deliver on,” he said. The student team did not win the pitch competition.


 * 1) Esther Surden | https://njtechweekly.com/new-jersey-startup-silas-wins-audience-choice-and-investor-panel-awards-at-february-bullpen/
 * 2) Emily Bader | http://www.roi-nj.com/2019/02/07/tech/techlaunch-announces-winner-of-latest-startup-pitch-competition/
 * 3) Crunchbase | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aersys-inc#section-overview
 * 4) Bloomberg | https://www.bloomberg.com/research///stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=603778756