The entrepreneurship ecosystem at Waterloo Engineering nurtures promising ideas into thriving enterprises. In our weekly Founder Fuel series, we look at new ventures and how they have benefited from that crucial early support.
Accrording to Matt McRoberts (BASc ’15, mechanical engineering), drones have huge potential. What holds them back is limited battery power. McRoberts and his teammates tackled this problem with their Capstone project, creating a hybrid power train that gives drones more endurance.
The hybrid powertrain enables drones to shift seamlessly between gasoline and batteries as needed, creating a viable solution in all kinds of industrial and commercial settings.
With support and funding from Velocity and the Accelerator Centre’s JumpStart program, plus the mentorship of Waterloo Engineering faculty members, the team launched their startup, Pegasus Aeronatics.
McRoberts is proud of what they’ve accomplished so far. Pegasus is now selling the technology to billion-dollar UAV manufacturers for use around the world in applications from precision agricultural to navigating ice floes.
Go to Turning drones into industrial workshorses for the full story.