On the subject of the drones that fly throughout drone exhibits, there isn’t a lot in the best way of drones which are a family identify the best way DJI is in terms of digital camera drones. However that’s rapidly altering, and it’s all because of UVify.
The American drone maker is the crew that makes drones for all types of sunshine show drone firms, together with Illumin (which was not too long ago named the official drone gentle show supplier for the Metropolis of Toronto), Sky Components and Pixis Drones. UVify is presently 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 worldwide chief in drone leisure.
Right here’s what it’s essential to know concerning the firm that would very quickly grow to be 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 via a number 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 good micro racing drone. And whereas primarily centered on gentle exhibits, even at present UVify has its palms in a few totally different elements of drones, together with through a collaboration with DARPA on swarm drone applied sciences.
UVify raised a $4 million Collection A over a decade in the past and has since achieved profitability — one thing that’s hardly true of many Silicon Valley firms at present. Although privately held, they continue to be open to strategic investments.
Right this moment, UVify estimates that it has roughly a 90% market share for gentle show drones in North America. Although not independently verified by The Drone Woman, UVify claims it has offered extra drones in North America than all rivals mixed, and that its drones have logged extra flight hours and carried out extra general drone exhibits than every other firm within the trade.
UVify can also be the crew behind a number of record-breaking drone exhibits, as confirmed by Guinness World Information. A few of these need to do with exhibits which are giant in measurement, akin to a file set in Might 2024 for most drones flown concurrently. It has additionally placed on record-breaking exhibits in collaboration with its purchasers, akin to 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 gentle show drone
After experimenting with all types of merchandise together with, sure, as soon as a racing drone, the corporate’s gentle show drone — referred to as the UVify’s IFO (Recognized Flying Object) — at present is the corporate’s flagship product. Listed below are some key specs round that drone:
- Waterproof score of IP43
- Wind velocity 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 akin to one thing just like the DJI Air 3S drone)
Once you purchase gentle show drones via UVify, you get a turnkey system with every thing it’s essential to get began launching your individual gentle show enterprise together with coaching, {hardware}, software program, 24/7 help daily of the 12 months, 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 not less than a small fleet to placed on a drone show, so be ready to spend rather more than $1,300. To purchase one, you’ll need to undergo a UVify gross sales consultant instantly. Seems, you may’t simply store for a high-end gentle 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 kind 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. Finances for fireworks for each show. In contrast to 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 gentle exhibits accessible to companies of all sizes. This modern method eliminates the necessity for patrons to buy or preserve huge drone fleets. As a substitute, present UVify can borrow extra drones wanted to placed on bigger than common exhibits by means of accessing UVify’s rental financial institution.
In trade 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 hold $45,000 whereas paying $15,000 to UVify in trade for renting 100 extra drones.
UVify: an organization to observe in 2025
Occasions like IAAPA 2024 made it clear that drone gentle exhibits are in demand in every single place, from small weddings to massive theme park shows. Because the drone gentle show trade grows, UVify is an organization to observe.
Corporations that use UVify drones now vary from main, nationwide drone gentle show firms to small, native drone show operators. Names embody Pinnacle Drone Mild Exhibits, which is predicated in Oakland, California and Sky Lites, which is predicated in Oregon.
So the place can you discover them going ahead? Subsequent up, UVify shall 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 shall be talking and displaying off UVify’s heavy-lift pyro drone referred to as the Vulcan. And there’s one more reason why UVify’s look at Cobra-Con may make it one of many high 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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