SAiMON Robotics, a company that supplies robots and drones to public safety and security organizations under a service contract model, used Skydio’s Ascend 2026 conference to study a new generation of autonomous aerial systems. The company disclosed its participation on October 22, 2026, in an announcement issued from Las Vegas. Ascend is an invitation-only gathering that Skydio holds each year for its users, and this year’s edition took place on September 23 and 24 in Summerlin, Nevada.
The company described its time at the conference as an evaluation of the newest autonomous aerial technology available to organizations like the ones it serves. Its team spent the event examining aircraft and software that could eventually be added to the options it offers clients. According to the company, the review is part of a longer effort to widen the set of platforms its customers can draw from, with special attention on equipment that satisfies the rules federal agencies follow when buying drones.
What SAiMON Robotics Assessed at Ascend 2026
The SAiMON Robotics team concentrated on three kinds of technology during the two-day conference. The first was drones that take off from a dock and return to it on their own, with no pilot needed at the site. The second was fixed-wing aircraft built for long-range missions. The third was software that can send a drone out to check on an alarm, giving responders a look at the situation before anyone is dispatched to the scene. Together, the three categories covered how a drone gets airborne, how far it can travel, and how it can be called into action when a security system is triggered.
Compliance shaped much of the review. The company said it is prioritizing systems that meet the requirements of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which U.S. government agencies apply to their drone purchases. Its existing robotics portfolio already includes drones and robots working in security roles, and the Ascend evaluation is meant to help decide which aerial platforms should join that offering. Those choices will be aimed at customers in public safety and security, the same groups the company serves with its current fleet.
“Public safety agencies want the reach of autonomous systems without the cost and complexity of owning a fleet. Ascend made clear how quickly dock-based operations are maturing. Our job is to evaluate those platforms against what our customers need and make the best of them available as a service.” Heberto Molina, Chief Executive Officer of SAiMON Robotics
How the Robots-as-a-Service Model Supports Public Safety
SAiMON Robotics runs its business on what it calls a “Robots-as-a-Service” approach, often shortened to RaaS. Customers sign contracts to receive robots and drones as a service, so they are not responsible for buying the equipment, keeping it maintained, or hiring people to run it. The company’s own description says its machines reach the field through a rental arrangement designed to be accessible, and that the model began in public and private security before expanding into logistics and industry. Under this setup, the burden of fleet ownership moves from the customer to SAiMON Robotics, which addresses the cost and complexity the company’s chief executive pointed to in his remarks.
The company is not starting from scratch with aerial work. It already operates autonomous drones for institutional customers in both Mexico and the United States, where the aircraft support mission-critical tasks. Those assignments include surveillance over wide areas, perimeter security, monitoring of infrastructure, and protecting assets that customers consider strategic. Each system flies pre-programmed missions that are designed around the specific operational needs of the client using it. That planning work happens before the aircraft leave the ground, so each flight follows a route and task list set for that customer.
Automation does not remove people from the process. SAiMON Robotics pairs the autonomous capabilities of its drones with human oversight, and every deployment must be directed and approved by a human operator before it happens. SAiMON Robotics is a SAiMON Group company, and its review of the platforms on display at Ascend is intended to give public safety and security customers more choices delivered through that same service arrangement.
