A UAS with a 40″ x 10” full color Lumenix 360 Display Sign attached to it is believed to be the world’s first digital “drone billboard.”

Developed by Central Floridian Bobby Watts, the UAS, known as the Drobotron DL1200 drone, is used to display video clips, still photos and text.

Via an article from ClickOrlando.com, Watts, who is licensed by the FAA to fly UAS commercially, explains what led to him coming up with this innovative use of drone technology.

“No matter where I go and fly a drone, everyone looks up at it. We've even been to the Cape filming rockets, and people will turn around from the rocket and look at our drones,” Watts says.

“As so I just figured, why not capitalize? Why not put your advertising, put your content on the drone itself?”

Current rules and regulations prevent drones from being flown over people, but the screen on the Drobotron can be seen from hundreds of feet away, even on a “bright sunny Florida day,” according to Watts.

So far, the Drobotron has been used for a few different projects, including being used to display videos of the International Drive resort in Orlando, as well as advertisements promoting pizza and drinks at the resort’s restaurant.

The Parc Corniche Hotel in Orlando will also use the Drobotron to get people to “stop in to get a room for a night or have a meal or (a) couple (of) drinks at our restaurant,” says Chris Demko, vice president of the Parc Corniche Hotel.

Outside of advertisements, the Drobotron has also been used to orchestrate an “extremely unique marriage proposal,” which was accepted by the woman on the receiving end of the proposal.

According to Watts, people have suggested that the Drobotron could be used for other tasks such as displaying emergency messages during search and rescue operations, using it as a scoreboard during surfing competitions, and flying it during fireworks and theme park shows.

With more and more potential uses on the horizon for the Drobotron, the company needs to expand its fleet. Watts says that that process is currently underway.

“This is our first aircraft,” Watts says. “We're working on bigger ones and bigger ones. So this is only the beginning.”