Drone News & Articles

The use of drones to inspect offshore assets can drive up safety levels, increase operational time and reduce costs.

In just a few short years, drone technology has “come a very, very long way,” says Tyler Collins, VP of enterprise services at PrecisionHawk.

They can fly longer missions – in some cases up to an hour, and one is being built that can operate for multiple hours, he says. The sensors and data capturing methods continue to evolve. Artificial intelligence and machine learning use are becoming more widespread.

“It’s data-driven, so accuracy goes up substantially,” he says.

Newer drones are fitted with cameras that deliver 100 megapixels, which can be used when searching for damage.

“We do a lot of analysis in the cloud,” Collins says. “Machine learning allows us to identify damage in a consistent, fast workflow, such as quantifying how much corrosion is on a component.”

Offshore, conducting a rope inspection may involve flying a special crew to the site or shutting down certain pieces of equipment. By contrast, sending a drone to inspect the same area requires only a drone and a drone operator and allows equipment to remain online, he says.

Even though drone use can result in a number of positives for offshore companies, implementing a drone program may not seem straightforward. One reason is drones, machine learning and artificial intelligence are new technologies and there are a lot of legacy systems still in place, Collins says. Another, he says, is that it can be difficult to understand the true return on investment.

“We help them put together a blueprint to understand the impact drone operations make,” he says. The blueprint is intended to allow a company to “plug their numbers in here, to understand how drones can operate at scale, and what some of those costs look like, and allow them to come to a conclusion for whether a drone program makes sense for their business.”

“The next step is, how can we send a drone out to multiple rigs in a single flight, have it conduct different types of inspections,” he says.

There is the expectation that as drone technology improves and the business case for drone use makes sense, the majority of offshore assets will have ready access to a drone, he says.

“The more drones that are out there, the happier we are, the more data is flowing, and the better it is for those enterprise companies because they can make better informed decisions about their operations and assets in as close to real time as possible,” Collins says.

SimActive Inc., a world-leading developer of photogrammetry software, announces that Correlator3D™ is being used for gold mining projects in Ivory Coast by Newcrest Mining Limited.  SimActive software is employed to produce dense digital terrain models (DTMs) using small format digital cameras.

Newcrest Mining also extracts high-quality contours lines from the DTMs with Correlator3D™.  The accuracy of the outputs allows for precise volume calculation and leads to efficient maps for the blasting teams.

“SimActive software and small format digital images make an ideal combination”, said Francois Gervaix, Technical Advisor at SimActive.  “Due to the precise GNSS geotagging and the optimized aerial triangulation, the expected accuracy at checkpoints is consistently measured.  Our software is perfectly suited for mining projects, small or large ones. This is only one of many potential applications of Correlator3D™ for non-metric cameras.”

On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it had granted UPS a certificate to operate limited drone delivery services across the United States.

Over the past six months, UPS has already made 1,100 medical sample deliveries at a Raleigh, North Carolina, hospital under a government pilot program. The deliveries travel 150 meters from one hospital location to another. Now UPS plans to expand to more than 20 hospitals over the next two years.

Even so, significant barriers remain before UPS can deliver packages to your home — or make drone deliveries a meaningful business. The FAA is still developing critical rules for drone delivery, including a way for authorities to remotely identify drones.

The Trump administration has taken steps to try to speed the rollout of the technology. In October 2017, the US Department of Transportation announced a limited program to loosen rules and allow more advanced drone tests, including flying over people and at night. The UPS flights in North Carolina are part of those tests, and the FAA must approve all routes.

UPS first announced in March that it would work with Matternet, a drone company, to make deliveries daily between two locations at the WakeMed hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. UPS said it generates revenue from the flights, but declined to provide further details.

The UPS drones fly fully autonomously on pre-programmed routes that a remote human pilot monitors. Companies such as UPS will eventually have to receive government approval to operate flights without human supervision to make drones a viable business.

Wing, the drone delivery arm of Google's parent company Alphabet, was the first company to receive a similar certificate from the government. It's launching a limited pilot in Christiansburg, Virginia, with Walgreen's this month. Like UPS, it faces meaningful restrictions to scaling its business.

UPS's certificate has fewer limitations, as it has no cap on how many pilots it may use at once, allowing for unlimited flights. Wing is limited to a single pilot, so it can only complete one flight at a time.

More companies are likely to receive certificates as the FAA is processing six applications.

The largest drone delivery operations are happening overseas. Wing is already making deliveries in Australian suburbs. Zipline, a Silicon Valley drone startup, says it's made more than 20,000 deliveries of medical supplies in Rwanda and Ghana, and is expanding into India.

The proliferation of robotics and automation in agriculture is fundamentally driven by factors such as the exponentially rising demand for global food production, depleting resources, shrinking arable lands, and increasing shortage of manual labor in agriculture.

As agriculture quickly becomes an exciting high-technology industry, new professionals, companies, and investing bodies are rapidly being drawn in. The development in smart farming technologies has led to not only advancements in production capabilities of farmers but also to the introduction of advanced technology phenomenon in the industry i.e., agricultural drones and robots.

The introduction of agricultural drones and robots is also expected to resolve another looming concern over the farming industry i.e., the shifting structure of agricultural workforce. This change in the global aging demographic has eventually triggered the adoption of automation in farming practices. Agricultural drone and robot manufacturers have seen a positive surge in their sales due to this profound change in the farming industry.

Governments of several countries have realized the need and advantages of smart farming technologies, and thus their initiatives to promote these advanced farming techniques are expected to further drive the growth of the agricultural drones and robots market. The growth of this market is driven by certain other factors such as economic need of precision agriculture and rising labor shortage.

High growth in the global agriculture drones and robots market is expected to be driven by the need to apply site-specific farming, variable rate application of raw materials and resources as per requirements, and declining agricultural labor across the world. Rise in the usage of agricultural robots is growing owing to the increasing applications in agriculture areas, including precision crop farming, livestock monitoring and management, indoor farming, aquaculture, forestry, and orchards, among others.

Agricultural robots are also expected to reduce the ecological footprint of daily farming. A large share of market has been driven due to the initiatives, policies, and support shown by governments in countries such as the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Australia, and China. In emerging countries, the growth is expected to be driven by rising awareness among governments of different countries about the need to elevate farm produce while taking care of the environment. Furthermore, rising concerns over global food security and sustainability have led to extensive investments by the governments across the world.

The agriculture robots market encompasses a wide array of robot types such as milking robots, harvesting robots, picking, robots, weeding robots, autonomous robot tractors, seeding robots, and pruning robots. These robot types are utilized in different agriculture areas including precision crop farming, livestock monitoring and management, indoor farming, aquaculture, forestry, and orchards, among others. Technology maturation and widespread adoption are the major reasons behind the reported growth of milking robots. Picking robots amongst the robot types have gained the maximum growth due to the increase indoor farms. A large number of picking robots have now only been developed to pick high value fruits and vegetables. As the market matures, the use of picking and harvesting robots is also expected to increase for staple crops.

To promote the growth of agricultural robots, governments and private players have introduced agricultural robots as service. It allows farmers to utilize advanced solutions for selective purposes and enables to pay per use. Traditional mindset with reluctance to change among consumers is one of the major reasons behind the reported growth of Agriculture Robot-as-a-Product business model. However, the Agriculture Robot-as-a-Service business model is expected to create a massive disruption in the agricultural robots market.

Although the trend of indoor farming is catching up, total global produce through indoor farming is nowhere close to the amount of agricultural produce generated through outdoor farming. Thus, the requirement for robots lies heavily for outdoor farming. Prominent robots introduced for indoor farming include pick-and-place robots and picking robots, whereas the prominent robots introduced for outdoor farming include weeding robots and autonomous robot tractors.

Looming concern of the lack of manual labor for agriculture is expected to propagate research and development of agricultural robots in the region, leading to further growth of the Europe agricultural robots market during the forecast period. North America generated the second highest revenue in 2017. Large market share of the region has been attributed to the rising need for efficient farming equipment in the large farmlands of the North America to generate profitable crop production.

The competitive landscape for the agriculture drones and robots market demonstrates an inclination toward companies adopting strategies such as product launch and development and partnerships, collaborations, and joint ventures. The major established players in the market are focusing on product launches and developments to introduce new technologies or developing further on the existing product portfolio. Deere and Co., Trimble Inc., AGCO Corporation, Parrot SA, GEA Farm Technologies, Lely S.a.r.l., Afimilk Ltd., PrecisionHawk., AeroVironment Inc., DeepField Robotics, EcoRobotix, Abundant Robotics, Naio Technologies, and Boumatic Robotics, are some of the prominent players in the agriculture drones and robots market. The market is highly fragmented with the presence of large enterprises and a large number of small- to medium-sized companies that compete with each other.

Moreover, extensive R&D activities and appropriate regulatory environments are also a prerequisite for the sustained growth of this market. Various government and private research institutes and favorable trade policies are putting in substantial efforts to identify the benefits of these agricultural drone and robot solutions for augmenting global food production. The increase in adoption of sophisticated smart farming techniques is necessary to bridge the demand and supply gap along with attaining sustainability in the production.

Terra Drone Angola, a group company of the world’s leading provider of industrial drone solutions Terra Drone Corporation, has successfully demonstrated at an offshore oil field in Angola how drones can be used as a surveillance and reconnaissance tool for oil spill incidents. The pilot project was conducted for a major oil and gas operator in West Africa.

Offshore oil spills are a cause of great concern not only because of the economic losses but also because of their adverse impact on the environment and marine ecosystem. They need to be handled quickly and effectively. To launch an effective response to oil spills, rapid preliminary survey assessments are necessary. For this, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) prove to be safer, faster, and cheaper than the traditional method of using helicopters or manned flight operations. The decision-making process for key stakeholders becomes more efficient with swift access to data.

Further, drones can be kept in the air for as long as required – only needing to land to replace batteries when depleted. They are also a much more viable option logistically because a team of just two operators can conduct UAV flight operations for up to 10 hours each day.

In the exercise conducted by Terra Drone Angola, environmentally-friendly colored dye was released at the surface of the sea to simulate an oil spill. To help the energy company identify the location of the simulated oil spill and assess the surface area of the spill, an octocopter fitted with RGB camera and polarizing filter was used. Six flights were flown to attempt locating and sizing the simulated spill and showcase how drones can be used to collect crucial information in an emergency response situation.

Siva Keresnasami, Operations Director, Terra Drone Angola, said, “It is inevitable that drone operations will play an integral role in activities like these in the future. Drones are fast and effective, and they equip decision-makers with the exact information needed to enable them to make correct decisions in the field.”

Apart from monitoring oil spill response, drones can also be used by oil and gas operators for several asset management activities, such as inspections of flare stacks, underdeck, hull, internal tanks, and pipelines. Drones are equally capable of performing large-scale aerial surveys which can be used for environmental baseline studies, gas leak detection, as well as 3D modeling of assets.

Hollywood is a funny old game. Sure, it used to be an exclusive boys’ club, meeting in expensive hotels to discuss the latest blockbuster over vintage port and expensive Cuban stogies… we think. However, recently, all you need to create stunning footage is a budget-friendly camera, an interesting location and a few sleek transitions up your sleeve. OK, so that may not get you a gig on the latest Nolan production, but you can still create breathtaking footage.

Of course, feet on the ground will only get you so far, and traditionally taking to the skies required expensive permits and a willing chopper pilot. Luckily, these days you can accomplish sweeping aerial cinematography with your feet planted firmly on the ground. We are, of course, talking about drones. They may have been around for a while now, but that only means the more recent ones are packed with amazing features. They aren't quite up to Falcon's Redwing capabilities, but they do offer rapid sports modes, 4K video and even, in come cases, interchangeable lenses.

Obviously, this list is going to get expensive, but you may be surprised to see some very affordable options. In fact, you may prefer the more streamlined bodies and consumer-friendly price. So, without further ado, here are five drones for film making.

1. DJI Inspire 2 with Zenmuse X5S camera and gimbal

You will notice a lot of DJI drones in this list, and there's a reason for that. The Inspire represents the flagship consumer drone, and is designed for professional aerial film makers. It offers up to 27 minutes of light time, boasts a tonne of safety features, including Flight Autonomy modes, Spotlight Pro follow mode and obstacle sensing and can do 0-50mph in just four seconds, with a maximum eye-watering 67mph limit. Thanks to the removable 20.8MP Zenmuse Z5S Micro Four Thirds camera, you're able to record up to 5.2k in CinemaDNG RAW and Apple ProRes (after purchasing an expensive activation license) to the detachable CineSSD (also purchased separately). Of course, there's also the more pedestrian 4K 30fps, which records straight to Micro SD, with a dynamic range of 12.8-stops and improved signal to noise ratio. It's definitely the pinnacle of consumer film making, as evidenced by its price. The gimbal, a staple of all DJI drones, also allows for incredibly steady footage.

2. DJI Mavic 2 Pro

DJI's update to the wildly popular Mavic pro series brings with it a Hasselblad L1D-20C camera, which houses a 20MP 1in sensor, allowing for greater clarity, better low-light performance and greater dynamic range. It's also capable of shooting in 10-bit Dlog-M, as well as 10-bit HDR, making it better than ever for colour grading enthusiasts. Speed-nuts will love the rapid 44mph top speed in sports mode, and thanks to the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance system, accidents should be a thing of the past. Thankfully, you're also able to utilise the Tripod mode, which slows down the speed factor, and allows you to create some seriously smooth footage. As with all DJI drones, there's a multitude of brilliant autonomous modes here, including ActiveTrack, cinematic QuickShots and the all-important return to home mode. That last one is a real-life saver.

3. DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

Yet another DJI - a recurring theme - the Mavic 2 Zoom is identical to the Mavic 2 Pro in nearly every way. In fact, the only noticeable difference is the camera… but what a difference it is! Boasting a smaller 12MP 1/2.3in sensor, the charm here is in the eponymous zoom feature. You're able to take advantage of a 24-85mm optical zoom, which opens up the Dolly Zoom mode, a favourite of some of the best film makers to ever grace the screen. Beyond that, you've got the same great 31-minute flight time, QuickShot cinematic manoeuvres and even the Hyperlapse automated mode, which is shared among both versions and creates stunning moving time-lapses. Video comes in the way of 4K at 30fps, or 1080p Full HD at 120fps, though you have the option of a 4x lossless zoom in Full HD. The autofocus system has also been beefed up, with the phase detection being up to 40x faster than previous versions - brilliant!

4. DJI Mavic Air

Surprise! Yep, it's another DJI, which should go to show how much of a grip they have on the commercial drone market. So, you ask, what makes the Mavic Air so special? Simple, it's tiny! Weighing in at 430g and folding down to 168x83x49mm, it's literally small enough to fit into your pocket - if you have biggish pockets, obviously. With these svelte dimensions, this is the ideal drone for anybody who loves to travel. Just because it's small doesn't mean it's underpowered however. It packs a 1/2.3in 12MP sensor that can rattle out 4K video at 30fps, or 120fps in Full HD. It boasts a series of QuickShots and autonomous flight modes - perfect for stunning aerial manoeuvres with zero experience - and you can put the pedal to the metal for a blistering 42.5mph. Of course, if you fly sensibly, you can get 21 minutes of flight time from the rechargeable battery. Needless to say, if you don't fly sensibly, you'll love the full range of GPS and sensing systems here - watch those obstacles!

5. Parrot Anafi

Take a seat, this may be a shock. Yes, the first drone on our list that isn't DJI, but rest assured, Parrot has earned this place. The first company to break through into the drone market all those years ago, they've been mostly overtaken by DJI. However, the Anafi, looks aside, is a great film-making tool, with image and video quality on a par with, if not slightly better than, the more expensive DJI Mavic Air. It features a 1/2.3in 21MP sensor, which can capture 4K HDR video at 30fps, or 24fps at 17:9. You can also film 1080p Full HD at up to 60fps, not quite the 120fps of DJI's offerings. There is, however, a 2.8x lossless zoom in 1080p, or 1.4x in 4K, which allows you to take advantage of the Dolly Zoom effect. It also features a 3-axis hybrid gimbal, which can actually angle upwards to take video above you. While it's a mix of physical and electronic, unlike the purely mechanical DJI version, it does a great job of capturing steady footage, and while it features autonomous flight modes and can perform cinematic manoeuvres, it lacks an obstacle sensing system… watch out for that tree!

Drones can cut last-mile delivery costs from a few dollars to a few cents. They can be used to inspect hard-to-reach assets like pipelines and map thousands of square miles of land.

Venture capitalists have invested $US2.6 billion ($3.8 billion) in drone companies in the past seven years, according to aerospace analysis firm Teal Group. In theory, the sky should be littered with unmanned aerial vehicles. Yet they remain the preserve of hobbyists and the military.

The two sticking points are public appetite and restrictive regulation. Commercial drone registrations are outpacing non-commercial and could triple in the next four years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

But in the US, a remote pilot certificate is required to fly drones. They cannot operate over people or at a height above 400 feet. Such restrictions are proving difficult for start-ups to work around.

Airfare raised more than $US100 million before shutting last year. 3D Robotics in California lost its fight against cheaper hardware drone-makers in China and refocused on software.

No US company can match the huge scale of China’s Shenzhen-based drone maker DJI. It has three quarters of the world market, according to Skylogic Research. US companies interested in using drones largely opt to customise DJI models.

By 2024 the commercial drone market should reach $US17 billion, according to a new report from Global Market Insights. But without FAA approval, company drone use will be limited. Amazon made its first commercial drone delivery in 2016 but customers await a national rollout.

The answer is to focus on good causes. Like the “unbanked”, the undelivered is a huge market. Adults in areas with poor transport are an appealing group for airspace delivery.

Who would object to the delivery of life-saving remedies or organs? UPS has tested medical sample delivery. California robotics start-up Zipline, which transports blood and vaccines in Rwanda and Ghana, has been valued at more than $US1 billion. These drones, offering clear public benefits, are a good place to start for mainstream acceptance.

A resourceful drone operator in Australia put his device's speaker technology to good use last weekend, using it to warn a surfer about an approaching shark.

The stunning incident occurred in the waters off Werri Beach in New South Wales on Sunday and was captured on video. Drone operator Christopher Joye posted the footage to Twitter, showing off his successful attempt at fending off the feared ocean predator.

"At Werri Beach today this large shark was approaching a surfer, and I used my drone's speaker system to warn him," Joye wrote alongside the 50-second clip. "Watch him look up at the drone, then bolt, with the sudden splashing warding off the approaching shark."

The video clearly shows the shadowy outline of the large shark swimming directly toward the surfer, who immediately takes his legs out of the water after hearing the drone's speaker.

"I don't think he saw it," Joye said, referencing the shark, in response to one Twitter user who asked about the surfer's reaction. "He looked puzzled when I was relaying that a large shark had been on approach when he was back on the beach. He certainly heard the message."

The video has already been shared thousands of times, and many viewers have praised Joye for his quick-thinking. That's "crazy stuff, probably saved that guy's life," one commenter said.

The operator said he was using the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual, which comes equipped with a slew of cutting-edge features, including infrared imaging, night vision and the emergency speaker. It remains unknown what type of shark was spotted.

Speaking to the Illawarra Mercury, a local newspaper, Joye said the shark appeared to be roughly 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) long and had been circling the surfer prior to his drone sighting.

"The surfer was completely oblivious, even though the water was very clear. I used the speaker system to warn the surfer as the shark started clearly heading towards him," Joye said.

"It looked like either a bronze whaler or a great white, but I am not sure. I have seen numerous sharks at Werri using drones, but this is the first time I have been able to warn anyone with the speaker system," Joye continued. "It is also the first time I have seen one heading for a surfer."

"It looked like either a bronze whaler or a great white, but I am not sure. I have seen numerous sharks at Werri using drones, but this is the first time I have been able to warn anyone with the speaker system," Joye continued. "It is also the first time I have seen one heading for a surfer."

Drone deliveries are finally coming to the United States in a very limited way.

The drone delivery service from Google's parent company Alphabet will launch a delivery pilot in a small Virginia town next month.

Wing has partnered with Walgreens to deliver food, beverages and health products within minutes in Christiansburg, Virginia. The pilot will mark the first time a major tech company has made drone deliveries to homes in the US.

Wing CEO James Ryan Burgess told reporters on a conference call Thursday the test will help it improve the service and build relationships with communities. Wing has not said how many deliveries it will make per day, or how many of Christiansburg's 22,505 residents will be eligible. Interested customers must live in select areas and can sign up on Wing's website.The company said it selected the town because it's worked closely with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation partnership at nearby Virginia Tech, which is part of an FAA program to ease drones into the skies safely.

"We still have a ways to go before it's the norm in our transportation networks," Burgess said on the call. "There's a lot of sensitivity and concern about the technology, understandably."

In April, Wing received a critical Federal Aviation Administration certification, allowing it to make commercial deliveries in the US. To date, the largest drone delivery operations have happened outside the US as regulators in the country continue to develop rules for drones. Wing has already started deliveries in an Australian suburb.

Burgess said the 10-pound Wing aircraft, which will carry up to three pounds, is quieter than a car or truck. The company has made efforts in the last year to reduce its noise, which may be a point of frustration for local communities.

Packages are lowered from the drone to a person's yard via a rope. Whether a package lands on a person's front or back yard depends on the suitable delivery zone.

Burgess addressed privacy concerns that may arise, such as whether people are being filmed in their communities and on their private property. It's common for drones to have high-definition cameras. The Wing drone features a camera facing downward to capture black and white footage to help with navigation. He said the resolution is too low to recognize people on the ground.

Recent Trends and Growth Opportunities: Profiling Players: 3D Robotics Inc, Aerial Imaging Resources, AeroVironment, Inc., Agribotix LLC, Aibotix GmbH, AirBorn Imaging and More.

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