“Advanced GIS Technology to Make Flying Safer”

When Erik Anderson, President at AED Aero, was still flying in the military, they had a squadron fly a plane into the side of a mountain because the aircrew had lost situational awareness. This tragic scenario has played out over and over again over the years with disastrous and high-profile results. “I knew we could have better navigation, better awareness, better safety, and better operational capabilities. I set out to make this my goal and initial purpose of the company,” he says. “We are in the safety and operational efficiency business, and to achieve this goal, we ended up developing our Gladiator Database which is the most advanced civilian Geospatial Information database in the world. The Gladiator Database is then used to create our AeroCharts products and to meet other customer driven needs.”

After years of research and development, starting after the founding of AED Aero in 2006, their first major milestone was developing the Geospatial Gladiator Database in 2013. The Gladiator Database is the backbone for all of their geospatial cartography and data-driven products and capabilities. Today the Gladiator Database consists of over 1.3 Billion data elements and is growing at a rate of approximately 15% per year. Extracted from the Gladiator Database, their primary AeroCharts product line is the most advanced aviation maps ever made. “The Gladiator Database also enables us to transcend the data to other business segments with the ability to manage everything from underground utility infrastructure, to the roads and buildings, to managing the airspace above, all under one geodata set,” says Erik.

“Inserting Disruptive Technologies to elevate aviation safety and operations”

As per the steadfast leader, many GIS companies are vying for a piece of the USD 59.5 Billion marketplaces as it is projected to expand to USD 107.8 billion within the next five years. The clear differentiator that sets AED Aero apart from the rest of the market is twofold. “First, our highly advanced Gladiator Database. Our trade secret database structure has enabled us to go well beyond where other databases crash. Second is our unwavering focus on our customer with capabilities that are significantly ahead of our competition.”

The unfortunate state of the aviation industry is that many are stuck in the “this is the way we’ve always done it” mindset. It is often only after a horrible fatal accident that we receive a call from a new customer asking for our AeroCharts product line. “In digging deeper to understand our customer needs, we learn all to often, they were using navigation maps that were over half a century out of date and filled with thousands of errors,” says Erik. “Because AED Aero is focused on safety and operational efficiency, our Gladiator Database is designed to produce the AeroCharts product line with these attributes as our foremost concerns. The pilots and aircrews are able to have increased situational awareness, navigate with precision with highly effective results around the world.”

Because an AeroChart product first exists in a digital environment within the Gladiator Database, the only difference between the digital chart on Google Earth, and a paper chart on your desk is the print button. But the real challenge is getting the digital maps into the moving map computers of an aircraft. Imagine taking a moving map computer made in Spain, installing it into an aircraft made in France, and using the digital AeroCharts map database made in the United States. “Everything needs to work seamless together and we have never failed to get our products to work within our customer application needs, with a 100% track record for on-time deliveries,” adds Erik.

With India rapidly expanding to become the 3rd largest aviation market globally, AED Aero is focusing on expanding into the Indian customer base while expanding in their current key market segments for the AeroCharts product line for the South China Sea region, Africa, and the Middle East. “Our Gladiator Database will continue to expand in excess of 15% per year, which enables our customers to constantly focus on high fidelity navigation which enables increased safety and increased operational efficiency,” adds Erik. “Because of the dynamic data change capability of the Gladiator Database, I also see AED Aero expanding into other markets beyond aviation to include hospitals and health care, utility management; and the insurance industries.” IE