Drone Aviation, a manufacturer of tethered drones and lighter-than-air aerostats, has been awarded a patent (US Patent 9,446,858) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Electric Tethered Aerial Platform (ETAP) technologies as currently utilized in its WATT and BOLT tethered drone products.
“As drone adoption accelerates, it is vital that we protect the key enabling technologies and innovations that are at the heart of our tethered solutions and provides for their safe and reliable operation,” said Jay Nussbaum, Chairman and CEO of Drone Aviation Corp.
“This new patent delivers a significant competitive advantage for the company while expanding the value of our existing IP portfolio which includes an exclusive commercial license to vision-based navigation and advanced autonomous flight management software that we acquired in 2015.”
The new patent entitled “Apparatus and methods for tethered aerial platform and system” covers the core systems currently incorporated into the WATT and BOLT products.
In addition to the new ETAP patent, the Company’s IP portfolio also includes exclusive commercial license to a number of unmanned vehicle technologies developed by Georgia Tech Research Corporation including “GUST” (Georgia Tech UAV Simulation Tool) autopilot system and vision-based navigation and autonomous flight management software utilized on the WATT and BOLT tethered platforms.
The WATT ETAP is the Company’s turn-key electric tethered drone designed to provide secure and reliable aerial monitoring for extended durations.
WATT utilizes a high strength, Kevlar®-armored tether connected to the ground providing unjammable command and control, uninterruptible power and secure collection and distribution of sensor data, delivering highly effective coverage from altitudes up to 400 feet for up to 8 hours or more.
Supporting advanced mil-spec sensors including stabilized zoom electro-optical/infrared systems, WATT provides excellent persistent ISR and aerial monitoring capabilities over a wide area.
The WATT ETAP is uniquely suited for a wide number of government, news gathering, industrial and emergency response applications where manned aircraft and even free-flying drones are unable to deliver the long flight duration and commercial grade real-time day or night video monitoring capabilities needed.
Drone Aviation Holding Corp. develops and manufactures cost-effective, compact and rapidly deployable aerial platforms, including lighter-than-air aerostats and electric-powered drones designed to provide government and commercial customers with enhanced surveillance and communication capabilities.
Utilizing a patented tether system, Drone Aviation’s products are designed to provide prolonged operational duration capabilities combined with improved reliability, uniquely fulfilling critical requirements in military, law enforcement, commercial, and industrial applications.
Source: Press Release