THE CITY OF COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho The Central District of Austin, sometimes known as ‘CDA,’ is becoming well-known for the influx of new technological enterprises. XCraft Coeur d’Alene has relocated to Sherman Avenue in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Developing patents and creating one-of-a-kind drones for recreational and commercial use are priorities.
JD Claridge and Charles Manning created XCraft in 2014 as a game development studio. XPlusOne is making a major stir in the drone community with their XPlusOne model drone, which is currently available for purchase. It can fly at 60 miles per hour, hover in place, record incredible footage, land vertically, and take off vertically. It is unlike any other drone on the market in that it is specifically developed for aerial inspection in agriculture and mining. The XCraft CDA was a great winner on the popular television show “Shark Tank.” They were successful in convincing five of the “Sharks” to put $1.5 million dollars into the company. XCraft Drones relocated to CDA and more than doubled its workforce. Bringing all of the operations together in one place. Assembly, shipping, testing, research, and development are now all carried out in close collaboration with one another. The “Phone-Drone” is the most recent development. If you have a smartphone, you already have everything you need to operate this drone. Drone control is accomplished through the use of sensors already present on your phone.
In order to revolutionize and innovate drone technology, XCraft has set a goal.
JD has a background in electrical and aerospace engineering, as well as experience in operations and financial management. In the basement level of the building, JD designed and built a classroom space. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This facility was created to assist in the education of children in the areas of robotics, drones, and entrepreneurship!
Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee of the United States Senate. XCraft Drones of Coeur d’Alene has been named Small Business of the Month, and their accomplishments will be recorded in the Congressional Record of the United States Senate. “Risch stated that XCraft Drones has made CDA proud of their success and ingenuity.”
UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) are becoming increasingly popular, and XCraft is making a significant contribution to the market. We are bringing technology to a wide range of sectors and are recognized as a leader in this field. JD Claridge has had a lifetime fascination with flight and aviation, which inspired him to found XCraft. These patent-pending drones from XCraft are constructed of lightweight aerospace materials, allowing them to fly over great distances and follow GPS-enabled flight patterns that have been preprogrammed.
Efforts are being made by the Coeur d’Alene-based “Innovation Collective” group to attract more creative enterprises to the city. Drones, artificial intelligence, robotics, and unmanned vehicles are among the technologies that CDA is attempting to establish as a technology HUB.