Heven Drones, a drone manufacturer based in Israel, wants to build the next generation of actionable drones to solve everyday problems, from autonomous last-mile delivery to emergency response to infrastructure repair.

With over 50 years of combined experience in the military, engineering, and scientific industries, Heven initially focused on a firefighting drone that would search and detect the beginnings of fire and drop small fire-retardant pellets to put it out. This is the company's definition of actionable drones—drones that are not only able to take pictures but also analyze a situation and act on it. After some research on the market needs, Heven saw a demand for drones that can fly longer, lift heavy loads, and perform "actions," be it for delivery or more advanced types of use cases and missions.

Since its founding in 2019, Heven has developed the Urban and H100 multitasking drones to increase efficiency, lower costs, and save lives, instead of "machines that simply inspect and monitor," as the website reads. As the smallest drone, the electric Urban is Part 107-compliant and carries up to 20 pounds at a speed of 44 miles/hour and a maximum flight time of 50 minutes, which is more than most other offerings in the market and maximizes payload while remaining below civilian weight limitation of 55 pounds.

The electric-hybrid H100 is bigger and carries up to 100 pounds with a maximum flight time of 40 minutes at a speed of 35 miles/hour, the ideal solution for immediate supply needs and integration with ground-based robots. Heven is also developing a flagship model, the H250, which will carry up to 250 pounds with a maximum flight time of 35 minutes.

With multiple customers in the Homeland Security and Defense sector, the company has also focused on what it calls "the container vision"—an adaptable drone ecosystem for every use case, where companies can easily switch drone payloads to accommodate the mission at hand. While the company has a limited number of payloads available, third-party partners can also develop and sell their own custom payloads, opening opportunities for other industries to take advantage of this technology, such as agriculture, delivery, and construction. For example, during a webinar in March 2022, the company presented a payload to carry a Boston Dynamics' Spot unit. 

To differentiate itself from other companies, Heven claims its patented technologies and partnerships focusing on longer flight times, heavy payloads, and drone stability are key. The company's patented battery management system increases the efficiency of Li-po batteries by up to 80%. In addition, a partnership with Plug Power, a developer of hydrogen power solutions, will bring hydrogen fuel cells to enable flight times of over 2 hours with payloads over 100 pounds. Moreover, Heven developed a control system with multiple gyroscopes and supporting algorithms to extend the operating boundary of stable flight significantly. Plus, it helps to maintain drone stability even with a center of gravity up to 120% away from the mid-point—a 70% improvement over existing control systems.

Earlier this year, Heven partnered with Roboteam to launch the "first-ever Flying Robot," a full turnkey robotic solution with land and air integration. This collaboration allows for one unmanned aerial and ground complete system for delivering a significant payload to the battlefield with EOD capabilities, Roboteam's MTGR. The two connect through hardware, allowing the drone to carry the robot, software that controls and operates the solution, and a communication link, making the robot much more efficient.

"You can fly when you want to fly, drive when you want to drive, with one controller, one software and one radio—a single interface for maximizing the operational range in the most difficult environments and complex terrains," said Matan Shirvi, Roboteam's COO. Although it is not quite the same, there are some similarities to the Spot and Percepto AIM dynamic where aerial and ground drones work together.

"Collaboration with Roboteam brings our vision one step closer with land and aerial robots working together to create a fully operational product that can complete tasks from the ground and the air," Bentzion Levinson, Heven Drone's CEO, added.