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We're building robot birds for surveillance.
Ornadyne builds flapping-wing drones for reconnaissance that look, fly, and sound like birds. Today’s drones are easy to detect acoustically, visually, and electronically. As counter-UAS systems improve, traditional quadcopters and fixed-wing UAS systems are becoming increasingly ineffective for close-range surveillance. Flapping-wing aircraft have existed for years, but have lacked the performance, endurance, and control required for real-world deployment. We’re changing that by engineering a high-performance, stealth-optimized system built from first principles for efficiency, autonomy, and reliable field use. The final frontier of surveillance won’t look like machines; it will look like wildlife already in the sky. Maybe birds aren't real?
Ornadyne develops flapping-wing UAVs that imitate real birds, offering near-silent, AI-powered drones designed for covert reconnaissance and man-portable use. The company is backed by Y Combinator.
The product consists of flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that resemble real birds in appearance and flight. They are designed to be near-silent and AI-powered, with a form factor that is portable for field use, enabling covert reconnaissance capabilities.
Who it’s for: Defense, security and surveillance organizations or teams requiring covert aerial reconnaissance with portable, quiet drones.
Backed by Y Combinator
Co-founder & CEO of Ornadyne. Award-winning engineer (IEEE/AIAA) recognized for pioneering work in flapping-wing robotics. Previously led coordination systems for Mars Sample Return at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and lunar rovers at Astrolab. Now scaling Ornadyne to bring bio-inspired stealth and efficiency to the next generation of flight. www.geourgkivijian.com
Co-founder & CTO at Ornadyne, building autonomous flapping-wing aircraft. Previously a Starship components engineer at SpaceX. Before that, I led machining at USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at the University of Southern California, helping the team set the amateur rocketry altitude world record at 144 km.
Autonomous bird-like drones for military reconnaissance.
Ornadyne develops autonomous ornithopter drones designed to resemble birds for military reconnaissance. The biomimetic design reduces acoustic signatures and visual detectability compared to traditional quadcopter and fixed-wing drones.
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