Watts Innovations While unobtrusive, industry insiders say the company, based in Huntsville, Maryland, designs and manufactures very high-quality heavy-lift drones designed for both pilots and end-users. I know there are
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Watts Innovations designed the platform used for Walmart’s retail drone delivery program. The company’s US-made, NDAA-compliant PRISM Sky platform is in demand by customers for a variety of applications.
and Exponential 2023 At the trade show in Denver this week, Watts Innovations announced PRISM Lite. It is a more affordable option for system integrators with the same quality and flexibility as the company’s flagship platform.
DRONELIFE had the opportunity to speak with Founder and CEO Bobby Watts and CCO Sauming Set about their new product and the innovative and tight-knit team behind it.
“PRISM Lite was developed with industrial applications in mind,” said Sauming Set, CCO of Watts Innovations. “Many customers are looking for alternatives. [their current fleet] Development of industrial drones.
Watts said it was a deliberate approach for the company to cater to specific needs. At Watts Innovations, he has two types of customers. Customers who simply want a ready-to-fly product and those who want a more customized platform for their specific use case. “Every new platform we create has been driven by customers with needs,” says Watts. “This is the fourth drone we have developed to meet the needs of our customers. We are pilots and engineers and we know what our customers want. We can take our base platform and find a way to unlock the capabilities of our technology for them, and that has been the success of our program.”
PRISM Lite is designed to be a cost-effective alternative for customers who don’t need the full feature set of PRISM Sky, but want a great platform that can lift heavy loads. PRISM Lite is based on the ArduPilot Cube, an easy platform for system integrators who do not require full fleet management. Intended for operation under Part 107 regulations, the PRISM Lite has a maximum takeoff weight of 55 pounds and a payload capacity of 25 pounds. PRISM Lite is fully NDAA compliant, remote ID capable, and manufactured and supported at Watts Innovations facility in Huntsville, Maryland.
“PRISM Sky is a great platform with all the features you want, but not everyone needs it,” says Watts. “Conversations with customers are a lot of fun. What problem are you trying to solve? Some people are looking for a complete platform, others just want to work with a single application. We have options for those people.”
PRISM Lite can be equipped with a Watts Innovations 12S smart battery, also manufactured in Maryland. Smart batteries allow commercial operators to optimize battery life using cycle counting and battery management systems. These systems allow operators to understand battery life in terms of working hours and missions, thus lowering the price per use. “It’s as innovative as a battery indicator on a smartphone that lets you know how much battery is left,” says Seto.
“We’re always looking to lower costs and improve usability,” Watts said. The PRISM Lite has a more streamlined platform and a correspondingly lower price point, which Watts says is one of the lowest in the product class. “We pass the cost savings on to our customers wherever possible.”
Watts Innovations expects PRISM Lite to hit stores in August 2023. Contact the company for pricing and availability.
Watts Innovations and US Manufacturing
Watts Innovations manufactures not only drones, but many of its components at its Maryland facility. Manufacturing many components isn’t always easy per se, but this is a long-term strategy. “This is a double-edged sword,” Watts said. [components] Off-the-shelf products save time, but if you need customization, it may be easier to make your own. ”
Watts’ manufacturing facility has doubled in size over the past eight months to meet customer demand for the PRISM Sky platform. With two buildings now, Watts will be able to fully support its customer base and expand manufacturing by optimizing the skills of its tight-knit and talented team.
“Our team is tight-knit and people wear multiple hats. We actually test every product before we ship it,” Watts said. “We do design and assembly in-house as much as possible, and the people who design the parts work closely with the production team to ensure they can be produced at scale. We might be on the phone for support, we’re very vertical.”
All engineers at Watts Innovations are also pilots, and all are inputs to the company’s product path. “I was very open with the engineering team and let them decide what kind of product to build,” says Watts. “This is a very open dialogue. Everyone has a voice.”
Saumin Seto recently joined Watts from Auterion, an open source platform solutions provider, working with Watts as a customer. “Looking at our team, I can confidently say that we are small but strong,” said Seto. “What we have behind our workshop door is truly something special. We invite people behind our door and when they understand our product and the customer service we provide, they believe it. We get incredible conversion rates.”
Watts also credits his team for the success of the company and its products. “Our team really cares. They care about our customers and the safety and quality of the products we make,” Watts said. “I feel good about it.”
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Miriam McNabb, editor-in-chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of professional drone services marketplace JobForDrones, is a keen observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. Miriam is an international speaker and industry recognized figure, with over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and he has over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, email Miriam.
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