Camilo Melnyk, co-founder and CEO of Blimp and a finalist in the 2024 Capital One Accelerator Pitch Competition, wants to make aerial imagery accessible by offering networks of automated drones to the agricultural and public safety sectors.

Drones can assist farmers by identifying pest infestations and then apply targeted amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, Melnyk said. He noted that 40% of farmers in the United States are losing crops due to labor shortages. Drones can help fill that gap.

In public safety, drones can be used to assess fires or accompany an officer on a 911 call. According to Melnyk, where public safety agencies deploy drones, more than 20% of calls are resolved without sending an officer. And at the Chula Vista Police Department, drones have helped reduce the average response time for 911 calls from 20 minutes to 2 minutes. 

The problem is that flying drones is expensive, with the equipment, pilots, planning, and image processing involved, Melnyk said.

Maryland-based Blimp aims to automate the process and eliminate many of the traditional steps.

“We provide a turnkey solution of drone infrastructure, engineers, pilots, and regulatory compliance that removes the barriers from deployments and makes the whole process very easy and cost effective,” Melnyk said.

The goal is to offer “a full stack solution of modular drones, automated hubs, and network management software,” he said. The hubs will automatically switch out batteries and easily swap sensors and payloads to quickly change missions.

Melnyk, who, as an aerospace engineering student at the University of Maryland, conducted extensive research on drones, has his drone pilot license and has been building drones for a decade. He also works as a firefighter/EMT, so he has experience in public safety.

He and fellow University of Maryland Terrapin Stacey Yaculak founded Blimp in 2020 with the Terp Startup Accelerator. Yaculak serves as Chief Technology Officer.

The following year, the pair won the top prize of $30,000 in David and Robyn Quattrone Venture Track at the 2021 Pitch Dingman competition, held yearly by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, according to Maryland Today.

They also were named to The Washington Business Journal’s 2021 list of 25 under 25 innovators.

For more details on the 2024 Capital One Accelerator Program Pitch and its five finalists, read the full story here.

Capital One is a Dallas Innovates Platinum partner. “Blimp’s Camilo Melnyk Aims to Make Drone Imagery Accessible and Affordable Through Automation” was written and edited by Dallas Innovates’ brand studio.

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