
WE ARE DRIVEN BY PURPOSE
OUR VISION
HCI’s vision is to help improve people’s lives and the planet by providing innovative solutions and services that are valued more highly than their alternatives, and to do so while making the world safer and more productive while consuming fewer resources. Our mission is to be the leading global innovator, developer, and provider of industrial autonomous solutions and services. We strive to improve the value we create for customers and society continually and to do so significantly faster than our competitors.
OUR MISSION
Do the right thing every time; make the most out of every day to make a positive impact
Celebrate diversity, inclusion, and the worth of all people; recognize both virtue and talent and recognize virtue over talent
Collaborate with innovative partners to imagine, develop, and deliver innovative world-changing solutions
Embrace market forces to continually drive academic innovation that impacts students, teachers, and communities
Be the partner of choice, strive to provide the highest quality, most reliable, and best customer experience possible
Make a fair profit to meet our current obligations and support our continued growth to realize our true potential
Provide an employment framework that promotes personal satisfaction in work accomplished and new skills developed
Sustain a safety culture of inter-dependent responsibility where ZERO injuries is always an attainable goal
OUR FOUNDER AND CEO

Jim Hughes has more than 20 years of experience helping some of the worlds’ largest and most successful companies to achieve new levels of business performance. He has a proven track record of global value delivery. As a Managing Director at Accenture, he worked with 6 Fortune 100 companies on strategic transformations while living and working in 6 countries across 3 continents. He is a published thought leader on Supply Chain High Performance and Navigating the Industrial Digital Divide. Jim is a native of the Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He serves on the Corporate Advisory Board for Autonomous Research at the University of North Dakota.
CONNECT WITH JIM HUGHES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
OUR LOCATIONS

WE SUPPORT CUSTOMERS GLOBALLY
OUR HOME IS IN THE THE MINNESOTA TWIN CITIES
OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Our Research and Development Office is located at the University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation
It is in the heart of the drone innovation ecosystem and is central to our ongoing commitment to giving real-world applied educational opportunities to students


OUR TEAM
HCI has assembled a world-class team of veteran business, aviation, technology, engineering, and science experts with a wide range of diverse and relevant experiences to help our customers unlock new sources of value

We embrace an open-minded innovation design process that is guided by decades of experience working with some of the world’s leading companies on large-scale strategic technology-enabled business transformations
Our work is informed by decades of academic research that has been at the forefront of aviation innovation since the 1960’s
Our team is eager to help you find solutions to challenges that matter
OUR APPROACH TO AVIATION

Safe and legal flying is at the heart of our business. HCI has a team of highly qualified professional FAA Licensed UAS pilots. Our strategic university relationships give us a rich pipeline of pilots with bachelor of science degrees in unmanned aircraft systems. We operate with a safety-first mindset. We have a rigorous pilot training program that focuses on flight safety and repeatable flight operating processes. Our flight processes are documented, precise, and repeatable. We use top-of-the-line aircraft and equipment for all flight missions. We follow all aircraft manufacturer guidelines. We conduct regular and preventative maintenance. We are fully licensed. We have industrial aviation insurance. We are ready to scale to meet our customers’ needs.
