The verified answer
As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Apellix: 2 models, 1 active incident. 1 source back the record.
Overview
Apellix is a Jacksonville, Florida-based company that designs and manufactures autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray painting, and NDT inspection. Founded in 2014, the company's tethered drone systems perform hazardous tasks at height — cleaning buildings, applying coatings, and conducting structural inspections — keeping workers safely on the ground.
Apellix drones are deployed in 20+ countries and its B2 Power Wash drone is the only cleaning drone certified by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- 1 incident on file
Key facts
Robot
Technology
Customers
Product Name
Revenue
Products
Price
CEO
Founded
HQ
Key products
DoD certification
Countries deployed
Revenue per unit
U.S. Army partnership
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
Apellix B2 Power Wash
The Apellix B2 Power & Soft Wash Drone delivers up to 4,000 PSI pressure washing at heights up to 195 feet. It is the only cleaning drone certified by the U.S. Department of Defense, used for cleaning buildings, windows, solar panels, and industrial structures.
Current platform
Spray Painting Drone
Apellix's Spray Painting Drone is a semi-autonomous aerial system for spray-painting and coating tall structures (storage tanks, bridges, ships); it uses proprietary distance-hold, speed-control, and perpendicular-alignment tech and is NDAA-compliant, deployed by DOTs, federal contractors, and the US Army.
Apellix on the deployment map
View the global mapApellix has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Apellix on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Apellix to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Robert Dahlstrom Founder & CEOsecondary-verified
- Phyl Schnyder Co-Foundersecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Robert Dahlstromcofounder
- Phyl Schnydercofounder
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting Apellix (1)
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Recent coverage
Apellix in third-party press
Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Robotphoenix5 models
- Amazon4 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- high
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (2)
- Apellix x U.S. Army (CBRN Decontamination) with U.S. Armydevelopment
- Apellix x AkzoNobel (Spray Painting Drone) with AkzoNobeldevelopment
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 24, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Incident recordedFeb 20, 2024
Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after...
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2014
Apellix B2 Power Wash at Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Apellix?
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Is Apellix a top robotics company?
When was Apellix founded?
Are there any incidents involving Apellix?
Is Apellix safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-13
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-13
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Apellix.Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Robotphoenix5 models
- Amazon4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Apellix from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
What Is the Best Commercial Cleaning Drone in 2026? Specs, Prices, and a Head-to-Head Comparison
Sponsored Content by Appelix. Executive Summary: Purpose: This evaluation analyzes commercial exterior cleaning drones available in August 2026 — comparing Apellix, Lucid Bots,…
Jacksonville's Apellix lands defense contracts with industrial drones
Apellix secures defense contracts using industrial drones, with clients including the University of Florida, the city of Seattle, and the Department of Defense.
Apellix: Innovation Born from Experience
Profile of Apellix founder Bob Dahlstrom and the company's evolution from garage experiments to serving the DoD, with drones deployed in 20+ countries.
Apellix Launches Spray-Painting Drone Program
Apellix launches a beta program for its semi-autonomous spray painting drone, offering proprietary distance-hold and perpendicular alignment technology for coating applications.
Apellix: Autonomous Industrial Drones
Apellix builds American-made autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray painting, and NDT inspection, replacing scaffolding and rope access for industrial cleaning and…
New autonomous drone is a smarter way to apply paint
AkzoNobel and Apellix collaborate on a computer-controlled spray painting drone, with Apellix winning the 2019 Paint the Future global startup challenge.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/apellix.md
- RSS feed: /companies/apellix/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/6d1d373f-bf5d-4a93-80fa-f3d0ae7052e5
- Revision history: /companies/apellix/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Robotphoenix5 models
- Amazon4 models
Video
This is a video of a light duty Apellix proof of concept aircraft in early July 2016. This video shows the Apellix aerial robot system coating white latex pain
Apellix invented the world's first National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Compliant Cleaning Drone! NDAA compliance is required to operate a drone in all Fe
On February 21, 2026, people flew in from around the world to witness the LIVE unveiling of Apellix Intelligence (AI), Apellix's autonomous drone software. As
Proof of concept (POC) for the Apellix Worker Bee Spray Painting Drone. The drone is fully under computer control and is able to paint a line between two points
Apellix is an early-stage company and the leader in aerial robotics. It is the only company with proven capability to measure the thickness of steel on a 300’ f
About Apellix: Apellix designs and manufactures semi-autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray painting, and inspection. Our patented aerial robotic
For 2 min version see: https://youtu.be/2sNNoQH91RE About Apellix: Apellix designs and manufactures semi-autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray
This video is of the Apellix Smart Bee(TM) aerial robotic system conducting Ultrasonic Thickness (Ultrasonic Testing / UT) gauging of an aboveground storage tan
About Apellix: Apellix designs and manufactures semi-autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray painting, and inspection. Our patented aerial robotic
About Apellix: Apellix designs and manufactures semi-autonomous industrial drones for power washing, spray painting, and inspection. Our patented aerial robotic
Here is a short video showing a split-screen of the 2 user interfaces streamed from the onboard computer on the Ultrasonic Thickness testing aircraft. On the ri
Blasting Experts es una empresa especializada en Limpieza y Preparación de Superficies, distribuidor exclusivo de las marcas más importantes de la industria pa
Reality vs attention
Apellix draws attention at the 52nd percentile but verifies reality at the 12th percentile among other robots. Hype Gap +39.5, 10th widest among other robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Aug 18, 2026