Outreach Robotics

What Outreach Robotics does

Outreach Robotics is a privately held Canadian aerial-robotics company, founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the University of Sherbrooke and headquartered in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The company designs and sells stabilized, suspended robotic payloads that mount beneath commercial UAVs to perform physical interaction tasks — cutting, sampling, and inspection — in GPS-denied, high-wind, and hard-to-reach environments where conventional drones cannot operate. Its current portfolio comprises five products: DeLeaves (registered-trademark tree-canopy sampler), Mamba (patent-pending cliff sampler with centimeter-level precision and collision recovery), EntoCam (automated insect monitoring with a 64 MP Sony Starvis sensor), Spy II (patent-pending inspection platform with a unique propeller configuration), and Limelight Rainforest (biodiversity monitoring system with sensor stations, camera traps, and acoustic arrays). DeLeaves is UAV-platform independent and integrates with DJI M350/M400, Aurelia X6, Arcsky X55, and Walkera R1000 drones.

The company earns revenue primarily through one-time hardware sales at quote-based pricing for most products, plus a paid engineering services line for custom drone solutions. The only publicly disclosed price list is for EntoCam, which ranges from $1,395 per unit at single-unit volume down to $995 per unit at orders of 25 or more, with volume discounts kicking in at three units. Distribution is exclusively direct via the company website, contact forms, and email — Outreach Robotics is the sole authorized distributor of every product it sells, with no retail or reseller network. Customers include academic and conservation organizations — Reed College, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, University of Helsinki, and Wageningen University are referenced — alongside the infrastructure-inspection segment (utilities, wind-turbine and dam operators).

The company's brand is anchored in scientific and competitive credibility: it won the 2024 XPrize Rainforest grand prize as the robotics arm of the Limelight Rainforest team and has received two National Geographic Explorer Grants. Three named leaders — CEO Guillaume Charron (MASc), CTO Hughes La Vigne (PhD), and CPO Julien Rachiele-Tremblay (MASc) — run the company, which still operates with around five employees and has not disclosed institutional venture funding beyond grants and prize winnings.

Name

Outreach Robotics

Legal name

Outreach Robotics

Website

https://outreachrobotics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Outreach Robotics, a Sherbrooke-based spin-off of the University of Sherbrooke, builds stabilized robotic payloads suspended under commercial UAVs for canopy sampling, cliff sampling, insect monitoring, biodiversity assessment, and infrastructure inspection. The privately held company sells directly to researchers, conservation organizations, and infrastructure operators across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sherbrooke

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - EntoCam System: One-time sale of EntoCam automated insect monitoring camera system including camera, UV light, screen kit, and accessories. Volume discounts available for orders of 3+ units. Spare parts sold separately.
2. Hardware Sales - DeLeaves Tool: One-time sale of DeLeaves canopy sampling tool with digital video transmission system and HD camera. Tool is independent of UAV platform and compatible with multiple commercial drones.
3. Hardware Sales - Mamba Sampling Tool: One-time sale of Mamba cliff sampling robotic platform with adjustable cable length. Patent-pending technology with automated cutting sequence.
4. Hardware Sales - Spy II Inspection System: One-time sale of Spy II inspection system including suspended platform, 4K camera, ambient lighting modules, and Herelink remote controller. Optional sensors (LiDAR, thermal, 3D cameras) available.
5. Custom Drone Solutions: Custom robotic solutions tailored to specific customer requirements. Team of mechanical, electrical, and software engineers design and build specialized solutions for challenging environments including manipulation, suspended payload stabilization, and remote-controlled access systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Outreach Robotics designs and manufactures aerial robotic tools that suspend beneath commercial UAVs to perform physical interaction tasks in hard-to-reach environments. The portfolio includes the DeLeaves tree canopy sampling tool, Mamba cliff sampling platform, EntoCam automated insect monitoring camera, Spy II infrastructure inspection system, and the Limelight Rainforest biodiversity monitoring solution. The company also develops custom robotic solutions tailored to specific client requirements.

Product overview

Outreach Robotics offers a portfolio of aerial robotics solutions for hard-to-reach environments, centered on five commercial products: DeLeaves® (canopy sampling tool), Mamba (cliff sampling robot), EntoCam (automated insect monitoring), Limelight Rainforest (biodiversity monitoring system), and Spy II (inspection camera platform). These products share a common architecture of stabilized, suspended robotic platforms that attach to UAVs and operate in GPS-denied, high-wind conditions. DeLeaves and Mamba serve environmental sciences and forestry through precision sampling, while Spy II addresses infrastructure inspection needs. EntoCam and Limelight support biodiversity monitoring with complementary camera and sensor capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DeLeaves®: Tree canopy sampling tool - a drone-attached device for remotely collecting plant and tree samples from previously inaccessible locations.
• Mamba
• EntoCam
• Limelight Rainforest
• Spy II
• EntoCam Beam

Products and services

• DeLeaves A drone-mounted canopy sampling tool for remote collection of plant and tree samples with automated cutting sequence, HD camera, digital video transmission, and adjustable tool length and orientation. Compatible with multiple commercial drone platforms.
• Mamba
• EntoCam Automated insect monitoring camera system with 64 MP high-resolution sensor, IP66-rated casing, timelapse mode, and programmable operating periods for Lepidoptera monitoring and biodiversity research.
• Limelight Rainforest Biodiversity monitoring system comprising sensor stations, 8-microphone acoustic arrays, camera traps, insect traps, and conservation drones for deployment in remote rainforest environments.
• Spy II Stabilized robotic inspection platform with patent-pending propeller configuration for infrastructure inspection in confined and hard-to-reach spaces, featuring 4K camera, collision recovery, and 35-min battery autonomy.
• EntoCam Beam UV Light Professional-grade 20W UV LED moth trap light with optimized wavelengths (367nm UVA, 458nm blue, 525nm green, 5700K cool white) and IP67 rating, designed as the official light source for the EntoCam system.
• Custom Drone Solutions Custom-engineered aerial robotic solutions for specific client requirements including manipulation, suspended payload stabilization, and remote-controlled access systems for challenging environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Operating range up to 20km from ground station in open spaces
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with NTBG and National Geographic on a project to collect some of the rarest plants on the planet. Mamba technology used to sample cliff plants in inaccessible areas. Described as 'groundbreaking' by NTBG drone specialist Ben Nyberg, with significant impact on species conservation and cliff environment research.
• University of SherbrookecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutreach Robotics originated as a spin-off from University of Sherbrooke in 2019. The company developed from research at the university, with first commercialized product (DeLeaves) launched in 2020 following academic work.
• Academic Institutions, NGOs, and GovernmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships established with academic institutions, NGOs, and governments to enhance technology application in conservation efforts. Active collaboration network in conservation, research, and environmental monitoring sectors. Includes organizations such as Reed College, University of Helsinki, Wageningen University, and others.
• Limelight Rainforest (Team Waponi)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutreach Robotics was the robotics developer and operator for the Limelight Rainforest team that won the XPrize Rainforest grand prize. Company developed all robotics including sensor stations, camera traps, and conservation drones used in the competition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PrecisionHawk: PrecisionHawk is a commercial drone and aerial data analytics provider serving agriculture, construction, energy, and government. Comparable in serving similar drone-based commercial verticals (forestry, agriculture, inspection) with broader product suite than Outreach.
• Delair-Tech: Delair is a professional fixed-wing and quadcopter drone manufacturer serving surveying, agriculture, defense, and inspection markets. Comparable to Outreach in providing professional UAV platforms and serving similar commercial end markets including forestry and infrastructure.
• Skydio: Skydio is a leading autonomous drone manufacturer for inspection, public safety, and defense. Comparable in advancing UAV autonomy (matching Outreach's GPS-denied autonomy emphasis) and serving infrastructure inspection end markets.
• AeroVironment: AeroVironment is a leading UAS manufacturer focused on defense and commercial applications. Comparable to Outreach as a UAV/aerial robotics company, though it operates at significantly larger scale and with much broader product portfolio including military platforms.
• Parrot SA: Parrot is a European drone manufacturer offering professional and consumer UAVs including the senseFly brand for commercial mapping and inspection. Comparable as a broader drone hardware provider serving similar end markets to Outreach.
• DJI Enterprise: DJI is the dominant global commercial and consumer drone manufacturer, and its platforms (M300, M350, M400) are explicitly listed as compatible with Outreach's DeLeaves and Mamba tools. Most relevant broad incumbent given how Outreach's payload business depends on DJI's installed base.

Direct peers

• Sharper Shape: Sharper Shape offers drone-based infrastructure inspection and aerial data services for utilities and industrial customers. Directly comparable to Outreach's infrastructure inspection vertical and similar use of UAVs for asset inspection in hard-to-reach environments.
• Cyberhawk Innovations: Cyberhawk provides drone-based industrial inspection services for oil & gas, utility, and infrastructure assets. Comparable to Outreach's Spy II inspection product line in serving the same hard-to-reach infrastructure inspection market with UAV-based solutions.
• senseFly (Parrot): senseFly manufactures professional fixed-wing and rotary drones for mapping, surveying, agriculture, and forestry. Comparable to Outreach as a drone-based data collection and aerial robotics provider serving similar end markets including forestry and environmental monitoring.

Emerging players

• DroneDeploy: DroneDeploy provides drone inspection and aerial mapping software for construction, agriculture, and energy. Comparable as a drone-enabled data and inspection platform, but focused on software/analytics rather than physical interaction tools like Outreach's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@outreachrobotics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/outreachrobotics

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Outreach Robotics