WEFLO, a specialized Korean company in future air mobility (AAM) solutions, announced on the 19th that it had won the Innovation Award in the drone category at CES 2025 with its portable drone inspection solution, ‘verti-Pit mini’.

CES, held annually in Las Vegas, is the world’s largest consumer technology exhibition hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). It awards innovation awards to products with outstanding technology, design, and innovation. WEFLO has received its first innovation award through the verti-Pit mini.

Verti-Pit mini is a portable inspection solution that quickly and accurately diagnoses the status of small drones used for drone shows, reconnaissance, and other purposes. As a smaller version of the existing ‘verti-Pit’ for large drones, it can be carried and easily inspected before the drone’s mission. Verti-Pit has been installed in approximately 23 locations nationwide as part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘Drone Delivery Demonstration Project.’

Verti-Pit mini is equipped with sensors and an AI-based diagnostic system developed independently by WEFLO. Through this system, the drone’s status can be precisely diagnosed in about 10 seconds through a non-contact method, and AI analysis based on data can predict failures and prevent safety problems in advance. This overcomes the limitations of conventional visual inspection methods, enabling unmanned and automated drone inspection and increasing the efficiency of drone operations.

Eui-jeong Kim, CEO of WEFLO, said, “Winning the CES Innovation Award is a recognition of our technology’s ability to revolutionize the safety and efficiency of future mobility in the global market. We will continue to develop more accurate and reliable inspection solutions through advanced AI inspection and build platforms that can be applied to various mobility to grow as a global leading company.”

Meanwhile, WEFLO has secured a cumulative investment of 6.3 billion KRW (approximately 4.7 million USD) by attracting pre-Series A investment in August and recently established a US corporation in Silicon Valley to accelerate its global market entry. In addition, the company has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the car-sharing platform SoCar to enhance vehicle inspection and management technology, and is also expanding its business into vehicle and air taxi inspection by conducting a project with Augusta Airport in Georgia, USA for commercializing air taxis.