When you’re throwing 100 to 200 drones into the air at one time for an amazing drone light show before large audiences, the last thing you want is for a stray or rogue drone to run interference and potentially cause a collision forcing downed aircraft into the audience at some point, or costly damage to your own gear.
The remarkable team at Great Lakes Drone Company, based in Watervliet, is working diligently to assure that such an incident never happens during one of their light shows. In fact, they are taking a new approach for what they call “Safe Airspace Integrations,” during their increasingly popular drone shows.
Company officials have announced today a new partnership with Fortem Technologies for airspace management and mitigation for their show performance venues to assure audience safety.
The Fortem SkyDome solution will be installed in Great Lakes Drone’s Command Trailer for the 2019 performance season. That state-of-the-art technology will allow Great Lakes Drone operators to see any threats quickly and accurately during performances, as well as help their venues mitigate any potential rogue drone incursions during airshows or festivals.
Matt Quinn is CEO at Great Lakes Drone. He tells us that technology is rapidly changing, and safe airspace integration is key to their ever-evolving industry. He says, “In 2018 we had to shut down one of our performances early as a curious spectator flew their drone too close to our performance box.” He points out, “When we are running 60, 100, 200 drones in the air at a time it’s very hard for someone to know where our drones are. They also will not know where they will be going if they are not actively involved in our operation.”
Quinn says, “The Fortem SkyDome solution provides an added layer of safety and security to our performances.” He adds, “This partnership will also allow us to provide UAS airspace mitigation for the two largest aviation events in the world, with SUN ‘n FUN and EAA Air Adventure in Oshkosh, not to mention all three of the AOPA Fly-In’s in 2019. This helps us take safety to a whole new level for everyone.”
Fortem Technologies is an innovative leader in AI-enabled airspace security and safety. Fortem delivers a commercially available solution that alerts, identifies and classifies drones and other unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) through its rich geofencing technology in the sky.
Gregg Pugmire is Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Fortem. He says, “We are happy to partner with Great Lakes Drone Company to help ensure safe events for not only their audiences, but to help protect the investments they have made in their drone fleet. Fortem is the only vendor that controls and owns all the technology end-to-end to provide a turnkey, robust and maintainable solution that is ‘fit for use’ to protect against all drones, day and night, flying on waypoints or emitting RF.”
Kat Swain is Senior Director of UAS for AOPA. Swain says, “Advancing airspace safety is critical in the age of drone integration and this partnership between AOPA, the Great Lakes Drone Company, and Fortem Technologies incorporates another layer of safety for all those attending each of the 2019 AOPA Fly-Ins,” and adds, “We are excited to see the innovative airspace awareness technology at work and admire the desire to collaborate and provide not only an entertaining drone show, but also a safe environment for the surrounding airspace.”
Over at the SUN ‘n FUN Airshow, Greg Gibson is CMO and Airshow Director. He says, “This announcement adds to the extreme value we are already seeing from our partnership with Great Lakes Drone Company. Keeping our audience safe is SUN ‘n FUN’s top priority, and this added feature of security to enhance the beauty of the Star Dance Spectacular behind the scenes is a tremendous bonus. We commend the Great Lakes and Fortem teams for their innovative collaboration.”
Meanwhile, Dave Chaimson, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for the Experimental Aircraft Association, says, “This partnership confirms why EAA felt it was important to invite Great Lakes Drone Company to make their airshow debut at Oshkosh in 2018.” Chaimson notes, “As UAS operations continue to grow within the National Airspace System, EAA sees that maintaining strong relationships with leading companies such as Great Lakes Drone Company and Fortem Technologies will ensure that UAS operations integrate in a safe and efficient manner for all users of our nation’s airspace.”
Great Lakes Drone Company LLC is an FAA 14CFR Part 107 Certified, unmanned aerial provider of unmanned aerial services. Their specialty is in aerial advertising and aerial entertainment. You can learn more about Great Lakes by clicking the link below.
http://www.greatlakesdronecompany.com
The Watervliet team says, “When it comes to unmanned systems, it’s not about what we can do or cannot do these days, it’s more about what we haven’t tried yet! Check our website for upcoming public performance schedule!”
The drone show photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of Great Lakes Drone Company of Watervliet.
