Sky Robots has introduced an aerial drone system designed to operate as a consistent layer within security environments, addressing long-standing challenges around visibility and response across large or complex sites. By combining persistent surveillance with rapid deployment capability, the platform supports a more structured and proactive approach to security operations.
However, drones by themselves are of limited use in security operations. Bertus van Zyl, founder and managing director of Sky Robots, said at the company’s ecosystem launch event that effective drone performance depends on a complete Drone Security Ecosystem (DSE), with the drone itself as only one component.
“The drone is the visible edge of the system, but it is not the system itself,” says Van Zyl. “The real value lies in the operating architecture behind it. That is what allows these systems to perform reliably in demanding industrial environments.”
He explains that Sky Robot’s DSE has been designed based on years of experience providing drones-as-a-service to mines, industrial environments, and other vertical sectors. The DSE starts with the ability to see the service’s outcome in terms of the value it will add to the organisation. This value is not your usual security grudge purchase, but rather a plan that enhances security and operational efficiency.
“Security is not separate from production,” he says. “It protects the people, infrastructure, equipment and materials that make production possible. When security fails, operations become less reliable, losses rise, and investment confidence weakens.”
Efficient operations
The next component of the DSE is how the service’s operations are set up and run. This includes issues such as flight safety precautions, reporting and alerting capabilities, support for when the battery dies or something breaks and remote maintenance is needed, as well as compliance.
In South Africa, compliance is a cumbersome process that can take months (or years) to ensure drones and their pilots are registered and certified to CAA requirements. In the case of Sky Robots, operations are also reflected internally, as the company manufactures its own drones (see the section on Field Assets) and management platform, and can integrate with other security platforms and control rooms. It has also developed technologies to make remote drone operations reliable and to ensure communications between these sites and the pilots (who are also remote and registered for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations).
Van Zyl adds that the company has gone paperless and has automated pre-flight safety checks to ensure that as little as possible can go wrong in the field. AI-based safety checks are also standard in Sky Robot’s operations.
Moreover, it not only invests in aircraft design and manufacturing, but also in electronics, software, and supply chain resilience as part of its long-term roadmap. This includes ongoing in-house R&D; and a Mauritius-based supply chain hub to support international deployment.
The network layer
Remote drone operations require reliable bandwidth for humans to communicate with each other and for drones to transmit images (from surveillance cameras, for example) to the control site and to control rooms in the event of an incident requiring a security response. Relying on fibre is not a realistic option in remote areas, and cellular communications can be poor, or, in some cases, terrible.
Sky Robots has therefore developed its own communication solutions and protocols to ensure continual and dependable operations. Installing repeater radio systems is one solution, and the company has also developed ROIP (radio over internet protocol) to keep pilots in the communication loop from almost anywhere.
The combined system enables Sky Robots to offer persistent aerial surveillance using VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) fixed-wing aircraft and a rapid-response deployment from vehicle-mounted multi-rotor drones.
The human layer
Despite advances in technology, humans remain very much part of the system, and Sky Robots has a dedicated training centre to ensure it can train pilots and other personnel who play a role within the DSE. Maintenance technicians, for example, are critical in the field. The company trains its own and customer personnel to the highest standards in drone operations.
As part of its growth strategy, Sky Robots is preparing to expand internationally through its Certified Partner Programme. Under this model, partners gain access to a structured operating system that supports deployment, training, maintenance, support, and long-term system development.
“Our international strategy is based on partnership, but with a disciplined operating model,” van Zyl said. “We want Certified Partners to deploy a complete and credible system, not just individual drone products.”
Field assets
Field assets are naturally an important component of the DSE and include all hardware components, from drones to mobile command-and-control units, as well as the communications setup and power supplies. For long engagements, extra batteries will need to be swapped in and out as required. The hardware also needs software that makes it work, such as ROIP, and Sky Robots has measures in place to mitigate electromagnetic interference.
One of the VTOL drones Sky Robots has developed is the SRV22E, a quadcopter with the long-range speed of a fixed-wing aircraft. It can fly for 2 hours continuously, while carrying a 1 kg payload. It holds an IP55 rating with a waterproof body. Its lidar-based ‘landing assist system’ accurately gauges altitude from up to 8 m above ground to ensure a soft landing.
Sky Robot’s hardware is manually manufactured from carbon fibre to ensure reliability, and its design incorporates the ability to replace or repair parts as required. Similarly, the company has an in-house software development team to cater for all the unseen software that enables drones and their command-and-control units to function.
Van Zyl notes that continuous development is core to the company. It is constantly improving and refining its products to deliver better service, with its Mauritian branch forming the core of its international supply chain, free from geopolitical influences. The company can also custom-design solutions for clients with specific requirements.
In conclusion, he notes the following as typical capabilities of the service available to customers, apart from specific client requirements:
• Rapid aerial patrols of large sites.
• Real-time situational awareness during security events.
• Monitoring of remote or difficult terrain.
• Support for ground patrol teams.
• Improved coverage of critical infrastructure.
“The DSE model is particularly relevant for mines and other sites where operational continuity is critical,” he says. “By linking security capability directly to production continuity, asset protection, and operational certainty, Sky Robots positions aerial systems as an enabling layer for capital-intensive industries – not as a standalone technology purchase.”
For more information contact Sky Robots,
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