The drones are coming

Although not part of St Augustine’s latest over-priced and under-delivered “Visioning 2014 and Beyond” prophecy, Historic City News is pleased to report continuing progress with technologies that are more realistically part of our community’s foreseeable future.

St Augustine’s prominent Department of Defense contractor, Northrop Grumman, may have some company from an emerging public company currently based in Jacksonville; Drone Aviation Corp.

The cable news behemoth, CNN, is reportedly perched to close a deal with Drone, as the Federal Aviation Administration continues to test the waters by partnering with a handful of companies eager to expand the use of the radio-controlled devices equipped with high-definition cameras for commercial use.

“Technology is at the core of my family’s business,” said Historic City News editor Michael Gold in a press release this morning. “We’ve been a leader in bringing overdue technology to local news reporting in St Johns County over the past 15-years, and this new tool will become a part of our arsenal as soon as reasonably practical after government approval.”

Gold says he is encouraged by the willingness of the FAA to allow testing with companies like Drone, and members of the Florida legislature who, although they have enacted a preliminary framework of regulations, does not appear to be headed down the path of overreaching restrictions that might kill entrepreneurial investment before it gets started.

Drone’s Felicia Hess said in an interview published in the Jacksonville Business Journal today, “The use of tethered drones on some CNN News vans is an exploration of how these drones will be used in news gathering and we’re happy to be part of the partnership.”

The conversation is happening as the company moves into a new, bigger space, raised $1 million issuing preferred stock, and appointed a new chairman of the board, Jay Nussbaum; who has experience with Northrop Grumman, Xerox and Citi Group Global Transaction Services.

The prospects of Drone being included as one of the FAA’s case studies for safe use of drones in the media are excellent with the CNN contract in progress.

Drone says their product enjoys a major design advantage over others still in development. The tether feature makes them especially appealing to news gatherers because they’re not free flying. They’re not going to run away from the reporter and crash into a crowd of people. You’ve got control because it’s on the tether and it’s not going to get out of range.

The news industry could be impacted by Florida’s new drone law — which prohibits drone surveillance of residents and private property. But, litigation appears more likely from the dangerous use of news helicopters in the alternative.