In relation to the drones that fly throughout drone exhibits, there isn’t a lot in the best way of drones which might be a family identify the best way DJI is on the subject of digital camera drones. However that’s shortly altering, and it’s all as a consequence of UVify.
The American drone maker is the crew that makes drones for all types of sunshine show drone corporations, together with Illumin (which was just lately named the official drone gentle 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 inside the area of interest drone show business as a world chief in drone leisure.
Right here’s what you must know concerning the firm that might very quickly turn out to be simply as well-known within the drone business 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 couple of completely different iterations. For instance, it had a quick 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 gentle exhibits, even in the present day UVify has its fingers in a few completely different facets of drones, together with by way of 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 corporations in the present day. Although privately held, they continue to be open to strategic investments.
At this time, UVify estimates that it has roughly a 90% market share for gentle 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 rivals mixed, and that its drones have logged extra flight hours and performed extra total drone exhibits than every other firm within the business.
UVify can be the crew behind a number of record-breaking drone exhibits, as confirmed by Guinness World Data. A few of these need to do with exhibits which might be massive in measurement, corresponding to a report set in Could 2024 for most drones flown concurrently (that report has since been damaged by a Chinese language firm referred to as Damoda). It has additionally placed on record-breaking exhibits in collaboration with its purchasers which might be particular to sure animations. For instance, there’s a report for 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) — in the present day is the corporate’s flagship product. Listed below are some key specs round that drone:
- Waterproof score 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)
Whenever you purchase gentle show drones via UVify, you get a turnkey system with all the pieces you must get began launching your individual gentle show enterprise together with coaching, {hardware}, software program, 24/7 help on daily basis 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 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).
Wish 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 additional 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 determine 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 Document for many pyro launched from drones. Watch a behind-the-scenes video for that show right here:
In fact, 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. In contrast to drones, the pyro isn’t reusable.
Revolutionizing the business 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 revolutionary strategy eliminates the necessity for purchasers to buy or preserve large drone fleets. As an alternative, present UVify can borrow extra drones wanted to placed on bigger than common exhibits 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 price $60,000 (thus $300 per drone), then the operator would maintain $45,000 whereas paying $15,000 to UVify in change 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 large theme park shows. Because the drone gentle show business grows, UVify is an organization to observe.
Firms that use UVify drones now vary from main, nationwide drone gentle show corporations to small, native drone show operators. Names embody Pinnacle Drone Mild Reveals, 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 will likely be exhibiting at Cobra-Con 2025, which is an enormous show for pyrotechnic professionals in Muncie, Indiana working from April 10-12, 2025. UVify COO Robert Cheek will likely be talking and exhibiting 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 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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