Elsight Halo: Drone Enabling Technology that Fits in the Palm of Your Hand [DRONELIFE Exclusive Interview]

Connectivity is critical for scaling drone operations – and the Elsight Halo is the tiny tool designed to ensure a secure and virtually unbreakable connection between drone and operator.  We spoke with Elsight’s VP of Global Sales and Alliances Scott Jonasz about the Elsight solution and traction and velocity in the drone industry.

Enabling Advanced Operations

The Elsight Halo is an enabling technology.  One reason that commercial drone operations have been limited by the requirement for visual observers and the single drone per single operator model is the risk that the connection between drone and command center could be lost.  When companies are able to effectively address that risk, as Elsight’s 6th Sense AI Connectivity feature does, they can then work towards getting regulatory approval to scale commercial drone operations to encompass BVLOS flight and other expanded operations.

With Halo and the regulatory permissions, says Jonasz, companies can start working up to their real capacity.  “One operator can manage several missions simultaneously and autonomously,” Jonasz says.  “And growing the business can become the focal point.”

Regulatory certifications are complex, but Jonasz says that Elsight Halo can be instrumental in helping companies get through the hurdles to qualify for advanced drone operations.  “Regulatory certifications require passing several checks,” Jonasz explains. “Halo provides drone companies with a solution that has real-world experience and a history of excellent performance. Companies can present regulators with solutions that include absolute connection capabilities for Command and Control, and no loss of communicate with your drone.”

Halo is a global solutions, Jonasz adds.  “Different parts of the world have different operators providing wireless signal. Halo 6^th Sense allows you to leverage operators’ signals – anywhere you are in the world.”

The Elsight Difference

Elsight Halo isn’t quite like any other product on the market – and Elsight isn’t quite like any other company.   We asked Jonasz to lay out Elsight’s differentiators.   “From a technology perspective, Halo is lighter, our power consumption is lower,” explains Jonasz. “We not only offer more connection links, but bond those links, encrypt the data, and infuse connectivity AI into the solution.”

Customers need more than just a great product to benefit from new technologies, however, and that’s another way that Elsight differentiates itself.  Elsight wants to get Halo into the hands of drone companies now, and they’re willing to work with their customers to get it done.  “From a financial perspective, we have created flexible programs that allow for companies to scale at the speed of their business, not hindered by acquisition and CAPX budgets.”  They also eschew the idea of a traditional “support” system, which Jonasz says only kicks in when there’s a problem.  Instead, the company uses a Success Assurance Program.  “From the inception point of working with a prospective client we have a defined process that ensures our client’s success, based on establishing their [key performance indicators] KPIs and aligning the entire experience to making sure we exceed them.”

We don’t offer traditional support, we are not a vendor, we are not a line on an expense sheet. We are your partner and we contract to guarantee your success – which is a major differentiator.”

Traction  – and Velocity

Elsight just received another funding round, and that’s helped the company grow even faster.  “To say things are accelerating at Elsight would be an understatement,” says Jonasz. “We have ramped up our global engagement strategy, which subsequently has created velocity on Halo sales within the industry and adjacent industries.”  Jonasz, a true technology veteran, has a great perspective on the concept of gaining “traction” in the market:  “Traction is transactional,” he says.  “It’s a snapshot in time.  When you talk about where are you getting the most velocity, that depicts motion and not something finite.”

Elsight sales have been focused first in Israel and then pulled to other regions by client deployments, including Australia, Singapore, Dubai and the U.S.: and they’re seeing velocity across their geographical spread and across the several industries that they serve.

In addition to their unique product offering, Jonasz says that Elsight’s company culture has been a major contributor to the company’s success. “You can never know how widespread the “all-in” attitude is in any company when you first join…it takes time to get to know the people,” says Jonasz.  “It takes time to really feel and experience the individual attitude about the company and the opportunity in front of us.  The people at Elsight are all-in,” he says.   “Even better than me realizing it,  our clients know it.”