Blue Vigil, a developer of tethered power systems for commercial drones, offers a new Autonomous Aerial LED (ALED) portable light designed to make nighttime sites safer. The startup's portable light recently won the 2023 Innovation Award at the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) trade show in Phoenix, AZ.
The company showcased its LED drone light at CONEXPO 2023. We spoke to the Blue Vigil team about the product development process and their goals during the event. At the booth, the team walked us through their product and explained how operators deploy the light on jobsites. Something to consider is that this solution is notably more compact than a large light tower, resulting in easy transport and storage. However, the hefty base and mast of light towers enable the units to withstand strong winds, impacts and rugged environments. This is what makes the products reliable on construction sites.
"We are bringing major technological innovation to the $4.5B global light tower category," said Robert Schumann, CEO, Blue Vigil. "Currently, towed light towers are the de-facto standard for a majority of nighttime roadside, bridge, overpass and other horizontal construction sites. However, they do a poor job of illuminating work scenes due to the inherent limitation in the tower height and lack of flexibility in placement. We have a better, and safer, solution to answer what will soon become known as 'yesterday's problems."
Blue Vigil's ALED is a compact area lighting system that mounts a high-intensity LED array on a tethered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), also known as a drone, positioning the light 40 ft. (12 m) up to 100 ft. (30.5 m) above a jobsite for as long as needed. The ALED puts over 8,000 sq. ft. (743 sq m) of light on the ground providing nearly twice as much coverage as traditional towed light towers. By illuminating a work zone from 40 ft. to 100 ft. above, light shines directly down onto the area of operation, without creating the dangerous glare and shadows that negatively affect workers, residential environments, wildlife and motorists.
"Illuminating a work area from directly above eliminates dangerous shadows or glare that create hazardous conditions for workers and motorists," said Schumann. "The ALED Portable Light will dramatically improve work zone safety and operational efficiency by putting more usable light on the ground where it's needed."
The ALED is purpose-built and designed to withstand the rigors of use in the field and on construction sites. The all-weather light is enclosed in a rugged, person-portable wheeled case that can easily be positioned wherever illumination is needed. The base is 30 in. wide, 42 in. long, and 24 in. in depth. Weighing 75 lbs. (34 kg), the product fits into a pickup or SUV and does not require a trailer or towing. Set-up is extremely simple: position the unit, open the case and push one-button to raise the light into position.
This emerging technology has already garnered industry recognition. At the ATSSA's 53rd Annual Convention and Traffic Expo, the ALED was selected for an Innovation Award, one of 18 products in this year's New Products Rollout.
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