XTEND, developer of XOS, a revolutionary semi-autonomous human-controlled operating system, has named Jim Michel as its new director of business development for public safety and security. Michel will lead the development of XTEND’s civilian business in the US and drive future applications of XTEND technology and its scalable and infinitely flexible XOS operating system in public safety, security, inspection and other civilian markets.
XTEND’s XOS operating system allows anyone to easily connect and communicate in remote environments with drones and other smart machines without the need for prior knowledge or training. This enables operators to accurately, intuitively and immersively move, see, communicate and run third-party applications on remote machines using a mixture of augmented reality, virtual reality, robotics and artificial intelligence. This makes XOS perfectly suited for operating devices in civilian scenarios, providing a new way for humans to interact with machines virtually.
“After three years of live operations, XTEND is ready to expand into new markets to ensure that remote interactive operations are accessible to everyone,” said Aviv Shapira, co-founder and CEO of XTEND. “Our goal is to make XOS the operating system of choice in a number of scenarios. It enables professionals to control remotely powered drones and smart machines and perform complex tasks that require human interaction and remote decision-making. We aim to revolutionize law enforcement, commercial security, inspection, manufacturing, travel and entertainment operations very soon.”
Michel brings to XTEND more than 20 years of experience with a background in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and technology expansion in government and utility ecosystems. He has held leadership roles in the remote sensing and GIS industry for 20 years, most recently leading Skyline Software Systems’ 3D business. He graduated in Imaging Science and Remote Sensing from the Rochester Institute of Technology and began his career at Eastman Kodak designing space and aerospace imaging systems along with image processing and manipulation.
XTEND recently won several multi-million dollar contracts with the US Department of Defense and MAFAT, Israel’s Ministry of Defense Research and Development Directorate, to upgrade their drone technology. In both cases, XOS already allows military drone operators to interactively control multiple smart machines remotely, at a safe distance, with zero training.
