Chris Lee and Jon Taylor
Co-Founders of Airtrek Robotics - Introducing a new approach to aircraft ground handling. www.airtrekrobotics.com
Ask Chris Lee and Jon Taylor what they like about robots and both will say it’s because
they’re cool. What they think is even cooler, however, is what robots could mean for the
future of airplane travel via the work being done by their company, Airtrek Robotics.
Enjoying the benefit of a $10,000 grant from Main Street Ventures, the duo is flying high
in continuing their work to fulfill their vision of using robotics to create safer airline travel.
PREPARE FOR LIFTOFF
Based out of Covington and developing their next prototype at the University of
Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Center, Airtrek Robotics is the company Lee and Taylor –
along with Chief Technical Officer Huzefa Dossaji – founded in 2023. The reason? To
pursue their goal of using airfield-specialized, autonomous robots for everyday ground
procedures. In doing so, Airtrek hopes to reduce potential problems it sees based on
reliance upon outdated equipment and manual operations that create less-than-ideal
takeoff and landing environments.
“Where we focus is how human error accounts for over 90% of ramp incidents, including
damage to the aircraft. That costs the global airlines $10 billion annually. That’s a huge
number, but the real problem is, post-pandemic, that number is projected to only get
worse as more people want to fly while less people want to work on the ramp,” says
Lee, who also serves as AirTrek’s CEO. “We envision that our robot, for example,
10 minutes prior to the aircraft's arrival to the gate, comes out and like a Roomba,
cleans the ground to make sure that it is clear of debris. Small debris like bolts and nuts
when they get sucked into the jet engines, can severely damage the aircraft.”
Continuing, Lee says he envisions the company’s autonomous workers will also be able
to direct pilots to their exact parking positions, a process known as aircraft marshaling.
Having met while all working together at a previous company specializing in AI and
autonomous mobility, Lee, Taylor, AirTrek’s COO, and Dossaji had the background to
build their first prototype. Armed with Main Street Ventures’ funding, they built it in a
garage before later testing it in a local park. The process let the trio know they were
onto something, validating their idea as a potential business venture.
By providing what Taylor says was the “first money that we had access to that enabled
us to develop the technology,” Main Street Ventures’ support also gave them the
credibility and direction needed to move forward.
Lee, in fact, says it was “essential.”
“It’s helped us to get the other market traction … We’ve been able to run our ideas by
industry people and the customers and see their feedback. That leads us to the next
round of their funding and grants,” he says. “In that sense, the MSV funding was
essential because it gave us a good opportunity to build the first prototype and market
to customers.”
SKY’S THE LIMIT
Targeting commercial airlines as their base, Airtrek has already made strides toward its
goals. This includes being able to do some initial work at the Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky International Airport, a critical step in showcasing the company’s potential to
commercial airlines. Now, readying its next, more advanced prototype, Lee and Taylor
are both optimistic about AirTrek’s prospects.
Taylor hopes more companies follow suit – which is why he encourages all aspiring
companies to seek the help of Main Street Ventures on their own entrepreneurial
journeys.
“Everybody in the Midwest is all about local support. Starting with Main Street Ventures
and trying to build out the network from there is a great way to expand those
relationships. Once we started testing out this process, we were introduced to and
naturally found all the other startup ecosystem partners like Cintrifuse, Blue North and
others within this region which has helped us build our network and gain traction; it was
the key starting point,” he says. “Anything that we can do to continue momentum in
building that from a community standpoint is going to be great for everybody here.
When people think of startups, they probably think of Silicon Valley or New York or
Boston ... It’s not often Cincinnati, Ohio. The more we can help to change that and build
out the ecosystem, the better.”
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