From its humble beginnings flying banners in 2015, Philadelphia’s Verge Aero now produces dazzling drone light shows, including the memorable Eagles playoff display, writes Holly Quinn for Technical.ly.
When the company first started, even getting a handful of drones into a flying formation was a challenge.
“We started a company just thinking about automation,” said cofounder Christopher Franzwa. “We didn’t have a direction per se.”
With the process now far simpler and more operators joining the field, Verge Aero is focusing on providing infrastructure rather than producing the shows itself. Instead, its hardware-and-software platform helps enable event companies and others to create and manage their own drone light shows.
“The software is the driver,” said Franzwa.
The platform allows users to design shows through a visual interface that automatically factors in drone spacing, speed, and safety constraints for every formation. The latest updates added AI-assisted tools to make designing shows faster, more precise, and easier to manage.
Verge Aero also assists customers in navigating the complex legal process involved in securing Federal Aviation Administration waivers and coordinating airspace, since federal rules limit the number of drones that a single operator is allowed to control.
Read more about Verge Aero in Technical.ly.
