Birdstop flight-tests in Detroit and sources batteries and PCBs from U.S. providers
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The short version
- Bloom found Birdstop a provider with a dedicated flight-test site in Metro Detroit, where new features get tested before they reach customers.
- Sourced U.S. providers for batteries, PCBs, and onboard electronics to work alongside Birdstop’s engineers.
- Helped decide which parts of the build to send out, while core engineering and assembly stayed in-house.
Services used
- Manufacturing
- Logistics
Birdstop is an American drone manufacturer building for government and industry. Its systems fly in national airspace with operators who can be hundreds of miles away. Birdstop calls the experience “click-to-coverage”: a non-expert operator gets eyes on any scene in 60 seconds or less. Birdstop builds the airframes, the autonomy, and the electronics and vision systems that make that work.
Birdstop designs and builds much of the system in-house. It holds nine FAA approvals for BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) operations. As demand grew, the question was how to add capacity without handing out the engineering that makes the system work.
The first need was somewhere to fly. Bloom found a provider with a dedicated test site inside Detroit’s Advanced Aerial Innovation Region (AAIR), where Birdstop can fly take-offs and landings on a standing basis instead of arranging each test. That shortened the loop between software changes and real flights. New Birdstop features are now tested there in an operational environment before they reach customers.
Birdstop owns the architecture of its platform and keeps the highest-value engineering in-house. Bloom’s team worked through the make-versus-buy calls with them and moved specific pieces of the build to providers. For batteries, Bloom found domestic providers that meet Birdstop’s power and regulatory requirements. Bloom has also started finding domestic providers for key electronics: PCBs and the onboard electronics and vision systems that tie together cameras, stabilization, and sensing.
"Choosing Detroit for our next phase of growth was a big step, and Bloom helped us hit the ground running really fast. From securing our first flight testing facility in Detroit to finding excellent domestic partners for batteries, PCBs, and our electronics, Bloom’s network has allowed us to move faster and scale with confidence."
With non-core build work going to providers, Birdstop’s engineers stay on the airframes, the autonomy, and expanding its automated network across the United States.
What the network did for Birdstop
Make-versus-buy calls
Bloom’s team helped Birdstop decide what to keep in-house and what to send out, so its engineers stay focused on the work only they can do.
Batteries, PCBs, and vision electronics
Bloom connected Birdstop with domestic providers for batteries, PCBs, and the electronics and vision systems behind its “click-to-coverage” experience.