Multi-robot autonomy · Destin, FLMulti-robot autonomy · Destin, Florida
One operator. Many machines.
First Operator Systems builds software that lets one person direct a team of drones and ground robots from different manufacturers, with a human approving every critical decision.
UNIT / FOS-C2
First Operator SystemsEST. 2026
Training time
20×
Up to 20 times faster than traditional drone piloting, in controlled trials.
SEC 01 / The Software
AI flies each machine. One person commands the team.
Flying a small drone inside a building or a tunnel normally takes a trained pilot, and flying several takes several pilots. With our software one operator supervises the whole team, and learns to do it up to 20 times faster than conventional piloting.
SYS / 01
Any vehicle
Drones, ground robots and surface vessels from different manufacturers run under one interface. New vehicles join without retraining the operator.
SYS / 02
Autonomy
The software handles flight, obstacle avoidance and coordination between vehicles, so the operator directs the team instead of flying each machine.
SYS / 03
Human approval
A person approves every critical decision before the system acts. The operator stays in charge of the team at all times.
SEC 02 / Mission
Nobody should have to go in first. Send the machines.
Clearing a building, searching a collapsed structure or checking a tunnel still usually means sending a person in before anyone knows what is inside. We started First Operator Systems to change that order of events. We build for the defense, homeland security and emergency response teams who do this work, and we keep a person in charge of every decision that matters.
SEC 03 / Team
First Operator Systems is led by a retired U.S. Army officer with nearly 40 years in defense technology and program leadership.
Barry Blackmon
Principal Investigator
Barry Blackmon is a retired U.S. Army officer and combat veteran with nearly 40 years in defense technology. He led the effort that made On-Point Defense Technologies the sole-source anti-tank missile provider for the Army's XM30 program, and wrote the R&D plans behind Alion Science and Technology's first large-scale products for the Apache and TOW programs.