Forward Robotics Inc.
"Spray drones that work like aircraft"
Kitchener, Ontario startup building the U9 Spray, a winged VTOL spray drone with a 100 L tank, 11.7 m swath and 135 acres/hour coverage.
Forward Robotics Inc. is a Canadian developer of heavy-lift agricultural spray drones based in Kitchener, Ontario. It was founded in 2018 by Meng Wei and Tamara Finlay, aerospace engineering graduates of the University of Toronto, and was backed at seed stage by SOSV's HAX accelerator together with Velocity, Krypto Labs and the Accelerator Centre. The company designs its airframe, autonomy and flight software in-house and holds US patent 10,773,802.
Its first aircraft, the U7AG aerial application drone, was a winged design that flies on wing lift rather than rotors and was promoted to Ontario farms in 2019 as covering about 100 acres per hour with coarse-to-medium droplets for reduced drift. The current product, the U9 Spray, is the result of more than eight years of R&D. It combines a fixed wing with vertical takeoff from four independently controlled tilt rotors and carries a 26-gallon (100 L) tank with a 38 ft (11.7 m) swath, covering 135 acres per hour at 2 gallons per acre with spray speeds up to 60 mph. Every unit includes 360-degree LiDAR and machine vision for sensing and avoidance, and a Link Mode lets one operator coordinate several U9 aircraft. The published starting price is USD 99,000 (CAD 129,000) with a USD 10,000 refundable-against-price deposit, and the next delivery slots are listed for March 2027.
Forward Robotics also builds custom aircraft, payloads and software for specialized missions and has a government and procurement contact. It is appointing dealers and service centers in agricultural markets worldwide, offering defined territories, on-site training for sales and service staff, demonstration aircraft and locally held spare parts.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
U7AG Aerial Application Drone
Earlier winged crop-spraying drone flying on wing lift, about 100 acres per hour
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Contact Forward Robotics Inc.
WEBSITE
https://forwardrobotics.com/HEADQUARTERS
Canada
Company Facts
Founded
2018
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
