On the subject of the drones that fly throughout drone reveals, there isn’t a lot in the way in which of drones which are a family identify the way in which DJI is relating to digital camera drones. However that’s shortly altering, and it’s all because of UVify.
The American drone maker is the staff that makes drones for all types of sunshine show drone corporations, together with Illumin (which was not too long ago named the official drone mild show supplier for the Metropolis of Toronto), Sky Components and Pixis Drones. UVify is at the moment headquartered in Seattle, with plans to maneuver to San Francisco in 2025, although drones are literally made in South Korea.
And with a market share of roughly 90% in North America, the drone has earned a status throughout the area of interest drone show trade as a world chief in drone leisure.
Right here’s what you want to know in regards to the firm that would very quickly develop into simply as well-known within the drone trade as a reputation like DJI.
UVify’s drone show dominance
UVify wasn’t at all times a maker of sunshine show drones. The corporate was based in South Korea in 2014 by PhDs in aerospace engineering. It’s gone by means of a couple of totally different iterations. For instance, it had a short interval the place it tried manufactured consumer-oriented merchandise: the award-winning UVify Draco racing drone and OOri sensible micro racing drone. And whereas primarily targeted on mild reveals, even in the present day UVify has its fingers in a few totally different points of drones, together with through a collaboration with DARPA on swarm drone applied sciences.
UVify raised a $4 million Sequence A over a decade in the past and has since achieved profitability — one thing that’s hardly true of many Silicon Valley corporations in the present day. Although privately held, they continue to be open to strategic investments.
At the moment, UVify estimates that it has roughly a 90% market share for mild show drones in North America. Although not independently verified by The Drone Lady, UVify claims it has offered extra drones in North America than all opponents mixed, and that its drones have logged extra flight hours and carried out extra total drone reveals than another firm within the trade.
UVify can be the staff behind a number of record-breaking drone reveals, as confirmed by Guinness World Information. A few of these should do with reveals which are massive in measurement, reminiscent of a document set in Could 2024 for most drones flown concurrently. It has additionally placed on record-breaking reveals in collaboration with its purchasers, reminiscent of a Sky Components drone show that formed 2,484 UVify IFO drones right into a hummingbird within the sky for IAAPA 2024,
The IFO: UVify’s flagship mild show drone
After experimenting with all types of merchandise together with, sure, as soon as a racing drone, the corporate’s mild show drone — referred to as the UVify’s IFO (Recognized Flying Object) — in the present day is the corporate’s flagship product. Listed here are some key specs round that drone:
- Waterproof ranking of IP43
- Wind pace resistance: as much as 20 m/s (45 mph)
- Drone max flight time: 26 minutes
- Weight of drone: 682 grams
- Dimensions of drone: 275x275x120 mm (considerably corresponding to one thing just like the DJI Air 3S drone)
While you purchase mild show drones by means of UVify, you get a turnkey system with every part you want to get began launching your individual mild show enterprise together with coaching, {hardware}, software program, 24/7 assist every single day of the yr, and entry to the corporate’s Fleet Augmentation Financial institution (extra on that later).
UVify sells their drones for about $1,300 every. Although, you may’t purchase only one. You want no less than a small fleet to placed on a drone show, so be ready to spend way more than $1,300. To purchase one, you’ll should undergo a UVify gross sales consultant straight. Seems, you may’t simply store for a high-end mild show drone on Amazon).
Need to purchase a UVify IFO drone? Point out UVify promo code DGIFO to your UVify gross sales consultant to obtain a 5% low cost plus a further free battery and set of high-performance props per IFO.
What about pyro drones?
UVify additionally launched a module that may flip UVify drones into one thing extra — a pyro drone too. It’s referred to as the IFO-P, and it prices about $500 further per module deck. With it, you may load a gerb (a sort of spark spewing firework) onto the module, which has its personal firing system. From there, the pyro operator can work with the chief drone pilot to resolve when to launch the pyro.
Sky Components, who makes use of the IFO, was the first drone show firm to obtain FAA approval to carry out a pyro drone show within the U.S. The corporate holds the Guinness World Report for many pyro launched from drones. Watch a behind-the-scenes video for that show right here:
After all, incorporating pyro right into a drone show prices extra than simply $1,300 per drone plus $500 for the module. Funds for fireworks for each show. Not like drones, the pyro isn’t reusable.
Revolutionizing the trade with the FAB Rental Mannequin
UVify’s FAB (Fleet Augmentation by UVify) rental mannequin makes professional-grade mild reveals accessible to companies of all sizes. This modern strategy eliminates the necessity for patrons to buy or keep huge drone fleets. As an alternative, present UVify can borrow extra drones wanted to placed on bigger than common reveals by means of accessing UVify’s rental financial institution.
In change for attending to borrow drones, UVify’s prospects should agree to separate the income from the contract 50-50 with UVify. So, if a UVify buyer had 100 drones however wanted 200 for a show, they might borrow 100 from UVify. Say the contract is value $60,000 (thus $300 per drone), then the operator would preserve $45,000 whereas paying $15,000 to UVify in change for renting 100 extra drones.
UVify: an organization to look at in 2025
Occasions like IAAPA 2024 made it clear that drone mild reveals are in demand all over the place, from small weddings to large theme park shows. Because the drone mild show trade grows, UVify is an organization to look at.
Firms that use UVify drones now vary from main, nationwide drone mild show corporations to small, native drone show operators. Names embody Pinnacle Drone Mild Reveals, which relies in Oakland, California and Sky Lites, which relies in Oregon.
So the place can you discover them going ahead? Subsequent up, UVify might be exhibiting at Cobra-Con 2025, which is a large show for pyrotechnic professionals in Muncie, Indiana operating from April 10-12, 2025. UVify COO Robert Cheek might be talking and exhibiting off UVify’s heavy-lift pyro drone referred to as the Vulcan. And there’s another excuse why UVify’s look at Cobra-Con would possibly make it one of many prime drone occasions of 2025. That’s as a result of UVify will even placed on a drone show incorporating its pyro drones.
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