Japanese drone manufacturer ACSL will start selling its drones in the U.S. later this year. The company has opened a subsidiary based in California to assist with this.
Who is ACSL
ACSL (Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory) was founded 10 years ago and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company is also one of Japan’s largest makers of drones. ACSL has Class 1 drone Type certification from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). In addition, the company works with the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
SOTEN drone
ACSL said it will start selling its SOTEN drone in the U.S. later this year. The SOTEN is a compact drone with a 4K video camera and a one-inch sensor. However, the camera system is hot-swappable. ACSL says this means you can use an optical zoom, multispectral or EO/IR camera. EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared) systems combine visible light sensors with infrared sensors. This means they can operate during the day, at night and in low-light conditions. In addition, SOTON has a flight time of around 25 minutes.
Government markets
A large number of U.S. Government departments use drones. However, the U.S. Department of Defense added DJI to the government supplier blacklist last year. This means there is a big opportunity for ACLS to market its drones to government departments, such as the U.S. Department of Commerce. ACSL also states that its drones follow strict security protocols, including the option to encrypt photos and videos before they are recorded to the onboard memory card. In addition, the communication between the drone and the controller is always encrypted.
What we think
ACSL’s main reason for selling drones in the U.S. market seems to be to capture part of the U.S. government market. However, additional competition for existing drone suppliers in the U.S. should be good for consumers. We will bring you more news about the launch of ACSL’s drones in the U.S. soon as we have it.
Pricing and availability
ACLS hasn’t released details of pricing or availability as yet. However, the company has confirmed that it will be releasing a drone in the U.S. this year.
