In the last year, Drone Aviation Corp. (OTC: DRNE) has gone public on the over-the-counter market, brought in some highly experienced board members and partnered with the Department of Defense.
Now, a week after moving into a larger facility, the Jacksonville-based company is on the verge of partnership with CNN, which would use DRNE's tethered drones on some of its news vans.
“It's an exploration of how these drones will be used,” CEO Felicia Hess said. “We're happy to be part of the partnership.”
(The contract has not yet been formalized, Hess said, because the companies are waiting on formal approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.)
The conversation is happening as the company moves into a new, bigger space, raised $1 million in a preferred stock issuance and appointed a new board chairman, Jay Nussbaum, who has experience with Northrop Grumman, Xerox Corp. and Citi Group Global Transaction Services.
After having success with its tethered helium balloon aerostats systems used by the Department of Defense, Hess told the Business Journal that the company has gone full steam ahead on developing tethered drones for commercial use.
With the agreement with CNN, Drone may even be included as one of the FAA's case studies for safe use of drones in the media.
Hess said her drones have a major design advantage that makes them especially appealing to news gatherers.
“In these industries, such as agriculture, news gathering and even insurance, there are questions by the FAA on how companies can use good deployment," she said. "In this sense, we distinguish ourselves, because we're not free flying. They're not going to run away from you and crash into a crowd of people. You've got control, it's on the tether, it's not going to get out of range.”
Another advantages lie in the tether itself, which is a cable that will transport power from the news van to the drone and transmit data between the two.
She said Drone is in talks with other companies to form similar partnerships.
The news industry is just one of several that could be impacted by Florida's new drone law — which prohibits drone surveillance on residents or private property. Critics point on that the law limits the usage of drones by news agencies, which could potentially be sued if they photograph someone feeling litigious, from foregoing the more dangerous use of news helicopters in favor of unmanned aerial systems.
Although Hess wouldn't comment directly on how the law could affect her potential clients or her own company, she did say that part of the company's mission is to promote the benefits of drone use by eliminating the more frightening concept of free-flying objects.
“When people hear 'drone,' it elicits numerous responses,” she said. “It conjures fear and spying, but also the very positive side of how these can be used to do great things. What we are trying to do is mesh that these provide safe, reliable, commercial viable options with will address fears. That's the spirit our company is about.”
Now, with Nussbaum involved (who was recommended to join by Phillip Frost, an investor and chairman of Drone's strategic advisory board), the company has yet another experienced investor and developer backing it.
“He has such a fantastic resume of taking something to the next level,” Hess said. “He has so much experience in business development in numerous companies. I can see why Dr. Frost recommended him to join or team. With his business acumen, his experience and expertise in government contracting, it was a natural fit he'd join us and provide this strategic expertise.”
That expertise of bringing a company to the next level could bring some significant success to the company. While it's publicly traded on the over-the-counter market, Hess said there are long-term plans to bring it to the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange.
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