Drone News & Articles

There’s no way around it—infrastructure inspection is as risky and dangerous as it is vital. According to OSHA, sending workers up towers or on top of roofs contributes to falls, the leading cause of death among construction workers. Helicopters can be a fast way to inspect a pipeline or transmission line, but they pose a certain amount of risk as well. For the past few years, companies have begun experimenting with unmanned aerial systems (UAS, or drones) to help improve worker safety, among other benefits. For starters, drones enable people to work at height less often, and often the risks of helicopters can be eliminated altogether. Keeping workers safe is reason enough—but drones can also help to identify structural weaknesses more quickly than those older, riskier methods. 

This article outlines some of the key ways that companies are using drones to more safely maintain infrastructure such as bridges, roads, oil and gas pipelines, transmission lines, and more.

Working at height isn’t the only risk inspectors face. They may also come into contact with toxic chemicals or emissions, moving machinery, and speeding traffic or high-voltage equipment. These risks multiply when the asset is in disrepair.

Drones make it possible for workers to survey structures from the ground and at a safe distance. As the FAA grants more waivers to enable flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), field workers will be able to rely on drones to inspect gas pipelines and power lines, reducing the miles they have to drive on poorly maintained back roads.

“Many of the things we’ve done in traditional ways have required manned helicopters, humans climbing things, or our people getting in harm’s way to do inspections or routine maintenance,” said Harry Nuttall, director of system air for Southern Company, the Atlanta-based energy company with natural gas, electric, and other business operations across 19 states. “Putting an unmanned system in there really enhances safety and efficiency.”

Drones are especially valuable following disasters, when damaged infrastructure systems need immediate assessment, but conditions are still hazardous. Drone pilots using platforms like Skyward can launch within minutes using the FAA’s automated LAANC approval process. They can also see temporary flight restrictions and coordinate safe flights with colleagues who may also be flying drones or other aircraft in the area.

Here are some of the types of infrastructure inspections that are becoming dramatically safer with UAS.

• Transmission and distribution (T&D) lines, to identify vegetation encroachment and wildfire fuels buildup, leaning power poles, sagging wires, snagged metallic balloons, equipment wear, vandalism, and more
• Oil and natural gas pipelines, for leak detection and equipment corrosion
• Vertical structures—nuclear cooling towers, storage tanks, smokestacks, piers, and the like—to look for signs of wear and anomalies
• Dams and levees, to identify structural defects and needed repairs, and assure environmental compliance/avoid stopwork claims during replacement work
• Bridges, underpasses, overpasses and culverts, for cracks, wear, general conditions
• Roads and freeways, to assess cracking and maintenance needs of pavement
• Municipal water systems—aqueducts, fish ladders on older dams, reservoirs—for leak detection, environmental monitoring, vegetation management, equipment maintenance, and security
• Railways, to check for wear, vegetation, rocks, and security on tracks, as well as conditions of bridges, poles, and yards
• Utility-scale solar facilities, for locating sub-performing arrays and repair needs
• Onshore and offshore wind turbines, to detect cracks and other maintenance needs
• Emergency, post-weather-event, and post-disaster damage assessments of all of the above

Drones are playing an increasingly important role in improving the reliability of the water, energy, and transportation systems we all rely on. Because drones enable infrastructure managers both to inspect more frequently and to obtain better data, they provide more timely understanding of what needs attention.

Drones also help public agencies, utilities, and companies that own or manage infrastructure systems to mitigate corporate risk. By keeping the field force out of harm’s way, drones curtail injuries and the lost work hours that come with them. Medical insurance, workers compensation insurance, and liability insurance expenses can also be reduced as the safety record improves. Better data reporting and improved compliance with environmental regulations bring still more risk-abatement benefits.

It’s not too late for drones to help

We know many U.S. bridges, dams, highways, energy, and water systems have exceeded their expected lifespans. But not everything is on the brink of collapse. American infrastructure remains among the world’s best. It is likely much of the fragility can be remedied before they cause widespread economic disruption. For example, a Reuters analysis found that, while about 9% of highway bridges were structurally deficient in 2017, only 4% of bridges carrying significant traffic were.

The scope of inspection is vast—100,000 miles of levees, 14,000 dams, 170,000 miles of railroad tracks, and 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines. Speed and prioritization are key. UAS technology is proving to be an excellent—and much safer—tool for the job. With the coming of 5G, we can expect to see connected drones conducting BVLOS inspections autonomously, further accelerating this crucial work.

At this week’s InterDrone conference in Las Vegas, Michael Ritter of SlantRange gave a great presentation – and explained how drones may be able to completely revolutionize global agriculture.

Imagine aerial data that can tell you much, much more than which areas of your fields are planted and relatively healthy or the standard analysis received from comparing crops to vegetation health indexes.  Get closer to that field and you might be able to see not just the broad view, but each individual plant in it.

That’s not a new idea, says Ritter; but it’s new for agriculture.  “Agricultural data relies on the resolution of images in much the same way that military images rely on resolution,” he says.  “In the military, they rely on having images that can tell you the difference between a car and Humvee, or a walking stick and a gun – and they have done so for decades.”

That’s not a new idea, says Ritter; but it’s new for agriculture.  “Agricultural data relies on the resolution of images in much the same way that military images rely on resolution,” he says.  “In the military, they rely on having images that can tell you the difference between a car and Humvee, or a walking stick and a gun – and they have done so for decades.”

That kind of resolution is also critical to realizing the potential of aerial data in agriculture.  “In agriculture,  having resolution allows you to tell the difference between a weed and a corn plant,” says Ritter.  “Higher resolution is important for crop analysis and decision making.”

Those data-driven decisions, says Ritter, have the potential to revolutionize agriculture – making it vastly more efficient.  While some growers have asked how drone data can ever compete with free satellite data provided by seed companies, satellite data simply can’t achieve the same resolution and the same depth of information. “While Satellite data will continue to get better,  it will never be as good as lower altitude level data,” Ritter points out.  “…One problem with agriculture is that each crop is very specialized and somewhat unique: so having lower altitude, high resolution data sets allows farmers to customize solutions for their particular crops.”

When you are talking about scouting tens of thousands of agricultural acres per week, the cost of low altitude data gathered by manned aircraft like helicopters can be prohibitive.  But as flight beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for drones becomes regularized, that cost will drop dramatically – and the data will become available for a much broader community of growers.  Drones, says Ritter, have the potential to provide “Really valuable data products for about 1/10th of the price they are today.”

As drones become more automous and regulations such as BVLOS flight are developed, the world of agriculture will change.  “Fully autonomous, robotic aircraft that can survey and treat thousands of agricultural acres per day at 1/10th the cost of today’s alternatives are on the horizon – and they are going to change farming practices around the world for the better,” says Ritter.

Introduction

New drone registration and accreditation laws have the potential to expose drone operators to greater liability by increasing the ability of Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to trace a wayward drone back to its operator.

Changes to the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR)1 will soon require:

• all commercial drones (regardless of weight) and all recreational drones over 250 grams to be registered with CASA. Registration will need to be renewed every year; and
• people flying drones to either hold a remote pilot licence (RePL) or have completed an online training course and passed a short safety quiz to achieve accreditation. Accreditation must be renewed every 3 years.

Fines of up to $10,500 can be imposed on those operating a drone without holding the required accreditation or an RePL.2  A fine of up to $10,500 can also be imposed for failing to comply with the requirement to register a drone.3

Deregulation of drones in 2016

In September 2016, CASA made a series of amendments to Part 101 of CASR which almost completely deregulated sport and recreational uses of drones.

At the time, CASA described the amendments to Part 101 as “cutting red tape for remotely piloted aircraft”, by regulating the use of a drone dependent on its weight, instead of the purpose of its operation.

As a result, more Australian businesses could use “small” drones for commercial operations, bypassing the requirements for obtaining CASA certifications. This deregulation led to exponential growth in the number of pilots operating drones for commercial purposes without a RePL and the requisite training, which inevitably created greater risk.

Why the change now?

The number of drones being operated in Australia is unknown, but CASA speculates that over one million drones are currently operating in Australia.4  With a significant number of drones being flown across the country, many of which are classified as “recreational” without being licensed and without their operators being properly trained, CASA seems to have back flipped on its deregulation strategy with the introduction of the new drone registration and accreditation laws.

CASA already has introduced extensive safety education and awareness campaigns and resources available to the public to assist flyers of drones in understanding the safety risks and rules for safe operations. Despite this, many drone flyers remain oblivious to the laws that apply when flying a drone. Additionally, a small number of drone flyers deliberately contravene the laws as they know that historically it has been difficult to trace the drone back to the flyer if an accident occurs.5

Drones have the potential to cause serious injury to people or property and interfere with other aircrafts. A prime example of the inconvenience and economic loss which can be caused by a drone is the closure of closure of Gatwick Airport a few days before Christmas last year following multiple sightings of illegal drones, disrupting flights for as many as 115,000 people at one of the busiest times in the year.6 The airport was closed for 33 hours, approximately 1,000 flights were cancelled and cost to airlines and the airport was reported to be at least £50m.7

With more and more drones being flown each year both recreationally and commercially, and the potential for harm that they can cause, drone registration will allow for:

• the identification of the flyer following a drone-related safety accident, with operators no longer being able to evade responsibility after a crash, as authorities will be able to trace flyers with their registration details;
• government authorities to access CASA records to address social nuisance, privacy, security and noise concerns; and
• stolen or lost drones to be returned to the owner if found.

Drone Registration

Commercial drone operators must register their drones from November 2019, and recreational drones over 250 grams will be required to be registered from March 2020.8

For commercial drones, the cost of registration will vary depending on the purpose of the flying. Annual registration fees will be in the range of $100-160 per drone. Although this seems a reasonable fee, for a mining company which may have a fleet of 50 or more drones, the cost will soon mount up, particularly as these costs are in additional to the fees for holding a RePL and remotely piloted aircraft operator certificate (ReOC).

For recreational drones, the annual registration fee will be around $20.

What do the new rules mean for commercial operators?

Register before you fly

Commercial operators flying drones in the very small category (1009 grams to less than 2kg) can currently be operated without a RePL or ReOC provided that they are operated in accordance with certain standard operating conditions.

Many commercial operators such as farmers and mining companies also currently fly drones under the 'landholder rule' which basically means that they do not need a RePL or ReOC to fly over their own land provided that certain conditions are met.

Starting from November 2019, these drone operators will now be required to obtain accreditation and register their drones before they can fly.

Greater exposure to risk

Given that registered drones will be able to be readily traced by CASA back to the owner, now more than ever drone operators need to ensure that they identify all relevant risks associated with their drone operations and have procedures and processes in place to address those risks.

Farmers, mining companies and other commercial enterprises who purport to operate drones in accordance with the 'landholder rule' should carefully assess their operations to ensure compliance.

For example, large organisations which hold assets in different entities may be surprised to learn that their operations may not fit within the strict requirements of the 'landholder rule'. If an accident occurs and the drone operations have not be conducted in accordance with CASR requirements, the operator’s insurance company may use this as a grounds for refusing a claim.

Too often drone operators concentrate only on CASR regulatory requirements and forget about other areas of legal risk associated with drone operations. A decision of the High Court10 earlier this year confirmed that aircraft operators (which would include drone operators) are required to comply with work health and safety laws as well as the aviation safety standards contained in the Commonwealth aviation legislation.

A thorough legal risk assessment of drone operations is therefore recommended to ensure compliance with the myriad of laws which apply to drone operations, from work health and safety requirements, trespass, nuisance, negligence, privacy issues, compliance with the laws in relation to the radio frequency within which drones operate, and many more. These other areas of potential drone liability are often the greatest source of risk for drone operators, with ill informed company officers potentially exposing themselves and their organisations to hefty fines and imprisonment.

Will it work practically?

Whilst the new measures will theoretically assist with the identification of “rogue” pilots who evade responsibility after a crash, the system largely depends on drone users doing the right thing by registering their drones and undertaking the accreditation.

Based on track record, CASA has been taking a reactive approach by relying on public complaints before initiating investigations, and it is clear that CASA will only investigate safety breaches where there is sufficient evidence such as photos or video footages. This is also reflected in CASA’s history of minimal enforcement of the regulations against drone pilots. With the lack of significant penalties, it is difficult to deter the dangerous and unlawful use of drones.

The deregulation in drone usage back in 2016 is due to the fact that CASA is arguably not adequately resourced to monitor drone use and enforce rules regarding their operation. The reality is, it is unlikely that CASA will have the resources to ensure drone operators are adhering to the new registration and accreditation scheme, nor will it be able to proactively “police” drone related incidents.

Will the new registration and accreditation scheme be an effective solution to curb reckless operation of an easily accessible gadget that is capable of large-scale disruption? We can only wait and see when the scheme rolls out. We will provide another update in this space a few months into the implementation of the scheme.

From more intense wildfires to prolonged droughts, climate change is impacting the ecology of the American West. That’s got researchers in our region looking at a new way to fight some of these impacts: drones.

Adam Watts is a fire ecologist and professor at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. We’re looking at a video from a recent prescribed burn in Utah.

"And now, pretty much the whole screen is filled with alternating fire and black from the smoke and it’s really a hellish, otherworldly scene," Watts says, pointing at the screen.

"You just can’t imagine being in something like this," he adds.

Watts was observing the fire with a team of researchers to learn more about how fire and smoke behave in large fires. They’ll use that information to improve the models firefighters and land managers use to fight fires.

But, he says there’s a limit to what they can learn at a prescribed burn.

"We want some really big fires that are kind of like simulated wildfires," Watts says. "We don’t want a little tiny prescribed burn, because if we study those prescribed burns, we don’t get the kind of fire behavior and smoke movement that we see in wildfires. And that’s what we’re after the understanding of."

Researchers are a common sight at prescribed fires, but Watt’s goal is to eventually get data from large wildfires. He now has a tool for that.  The pictures and data collection from the video we were looking at earlier came from  unmanned drones.  That means he was able to get insights from locations he couldn’t get to before.

"Right over the flames, right in that column of smoke coming up from the fire, where you just can’t get a manned aircraft because of the safety obviously," Watts says.

And that’s important, because new perspectives can give scientists different information. For example, Watts is looking into whether microbes from soil can be transferred from one region to another by wildfire smoke. But to measure that, he needed to put scientific equipment right into the smoke.

That’s a challenge because this equipment can be big. Some can take up the bed of a pickup truck. So to get it onto the drone, Watts and his team had to fit it all into something the size of a cigar box.

"So even though we’re doing fires right now, this emphasis on miniaturizing and specializing instruments and getting them in the air to observe natural phenomenon applies to so many different things that relate to the atmosphere, water, and terrestrial ecosystems."

Drones are a new tool in a variety of ways from fire suppression to land surveys to environmental information gathering. They're also being used to deal with drought.

Watts is part of a team that has been testing drones for a process called cloud seeding. Theoretically, that can help mitigate drought impacts, by flying aircraft up to the clouds and releasing silver iodide, which can help produce more precipitation. Science has yet to reach a consensus on whether or not the process works reliably outside the lab, but climate change is making all  sorts of ideas more palatable.

Ahira Sánchez-Lugo is a climate scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She says increased temperatures from climate change bring a rise in extreme weather-related events.

"What we were expecting to see, was more intense and frequent heat waves [and] more intense and frequent drought in some locations. The general rule of thumb is the wet areas will get wetter; the dry areas will get drier," she says.

This is a business opportunity for drone producers like Mike Richards. He's the president and CEO of Drone America, a Nevada-based company. He says he started his business  to help with  search and rescue operations, but it’s since evolved to include ways to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, like a longer and more intense wildfire season.

"Some of the work we’ve done with power line surveys actually helps with that," he says, "because you’re identifying faults which could arise in a spark and then a brush fire, which as you can see, has turned into some pretty horrible results in the past."

As wildfires and other natural disasters overwhelm communities, Richards says drones can be used to more safely, quickly and reliably get medical supplies and help to people in need. Imagine drones delivering first aid kits or life vests to people during Hurricane Katrina.

"So what you would do is have them positioned strategically around known disaster areas, such as that area of Louisiana, for example, where the flooding and high storms or hurricanes, etc. can cause massive flooding," he says.

Richards says Drone America was recently awarded a five-year contract with the Department of Interior to gather and provide data on wildfires for agencies like the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

When LC Aerial started in business its owners spent weeks building their own drones, now its talented photographers are buying off the shelf to photograph and film anything from sawdust piles to Mt Gambier’s Blue Lake.

Joint owner Charles Primer says LC Aerial found its niche market in the state’s South East seven years ago, when he and Linley Pollard decided to fine tune their photography skills with the help of drone technology.

The two had been specialising in photographing products for businesses wanting images to sell online when the idea emerged.

“We needed something to differentiate ourselves, if you look in the phonebook for a photographer there are hundreds to choose from,” Charles says from their Mt Gambier office.

“I had been flying remote control helicopters for years as a hobby and one day we thought let’s put a GoPro action camera on this helicopter and see what happens.”

They liked the result, applied for the correct certifications and found themselves specialising in low altitude aerial photography.

It’s been a rapid learning curve for the business considering that only a few years ago if clients wanted aerial photographs or footage they would need to hire a helicopter and a professional photographer.

In the early days, Charles and Linley made their own drones but now they can buy off the shelf and currently have 11 drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, of various sizes in operation.

The two have since worked in tourism and marketing, sporting, media and community events. Their client list includes KTM, the Northern Territory Government, Carter Holt Harvey, Incitec Pivot, Mt Gambier City Council, and TV networks Channel 7 and Network 10.

One recent job for National Geographic involved filming the Blue Lake and other extinct volcanic craters in the region while other contracts for local councils saw the company using its drones to assess water towers, warehouses or bridges for building works.

Charles says the smaller drones have been used for a sawmill owner to take numerous images of sawdust piles so they can determine volumes. The larger drones can be fitted with infrared, thermal or cinematic quality cameras that can weigh from five to seven kilograms.

Contracts have continued to flow for the business but as Charles chats now, the work is all happening in editing indoors as wind gusts in the South East reach up to 40mph and rain makes it difficult to use cameras.

He believes drone technology would continue to refine weather versatility in the future. To date, the largest change Charles has seen is in the market is the number of individuals flying their own drones following deregulation and the world’s largest producer Chinese company DJI creating its white phantom.

“They were making flight controllers to put on drones … the first ready to fly was the phantom,” he says.

Charles hoped South Australia’s tech hubs would see the state create its own drones in the future with a company in Melbourne currently working on its own version. In Mt Gambier, LC Aerial has pretty much cornered the market with its unique business model and Charles says its approach to looking for opportunities to diversify was important for the future.

He says another recent job has involved documenting the restoration of wetlands after Nature Trust Glenelg bought a swathe of land that had been drained for farming.

“They are restoring the wetlands to their former glory, drains are being blocked and the wetlands filled again,” Charles says.

For Charles, the business ties together his two passions; photography and controlling drones.

“I just like flying the drone, we’re always looking for new and interesting ways to get sensors involved, it’s no longer restricted to just the camera, there’s also thermal imaging, infrared,” he says.

“Drones have certainly become a lot easier to fly and it’s good you can go and buy an off the shelf that has a level of performance that you expect, you know it’s going to fly and its going to be stable.

“Beforehand it would take us about two months to build and tune a drone to ensure it was suitable for flying, now I can ring and have the purchased drone at the office overnight and know it will be the right level of performance.”

On 25 July 2019, the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations were amended to incorporate the introduction of drone pilot accreditation and drone registration. This comprised over 95 alterations to the Regulations.

In this article, we look at drone registration only. Hope you take some value from these observations which provide you with 15 key points arising from the amendments. A further article on accreditation will come shortly.

New Definitions

1. First up, some relevant definitions have changed which completely separates a ‘Remotely Piloted Aircraft’ (RPA) from a ‘model aircraft’.
2. Under the amendments, an RPA is now defined as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft, other than a balloon, kite, or model aircraft. That is, a model aircraft is NOT an RPA.
3. We then also have an amended definition of ‘model aircraft’ which is defined as an aircraft (other than a balloon or a kite) that does not carry a person AND is being operated for the purpose of sport or recreation; and has a gross weight of not more than 150 kg OR has a gross weight of not more than 7 kg, and is being operated in connection with the educational, training or research purposes of a school where there is an approved authority under the Australian Education Act 2013; or a higher education provider within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

The Ol’ Part 47….well, the new Part 47

While the lion’s share of drone regulations are located in Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, the new amendments are scattered throughout the regulations and in particular we need to now pay attention to ‘Part 47—Registration of aircraft and related matters’. We can expect a Part 47 Manual of Standards on registration in the near future.

Which drones must be registered?

Every drone must be registered UNLESS it is a ‘model aircraft’ with gross weight of no more than 250g; OR a gross weight of more than 250g AND is operated indoors; or a CASA-approved model aircraft flying field. A person can apply to CASA for approval of an area for the flying of  model aircraft. Further law might exempt certain classes of drone from registration.

By when do I need to register my drone?

As to timing, it is anticipated that RPA registration will kick-off in November 2019; and model aircraft registration to begin in March 2020. 

What else should I be aware of?

The penalty for NOT registering your drone is up to $10,500. This offence is ‘strict liability’ meaning that it does not matter if you did not intend to break the law; operating a drone that is required to be registered which is not registered is all that needs to be proven to make you liable. There are some technical defences available but that’s a yarn for another time.

You must be over 16 years old to register a drone. The person who applies to register the aircraft will be the registration holder of the aircraft. If a person is supervising a drone pilot who is under 16 years old where the drone should be registered and is not, then the supervisor will cop the penalty.

If you register a drone as a model aircraft, it must be operated exclusively as a model aircraft. That is, you must not operate a model aircraft as an RPA. However, a drone registered as an RPA may also be operated as a model aircraft.

Upon registration, you will receive a certificate of registration and if your drone does not have a serial number then you will receive a registration mark. A certificate of registration may cover more than one drone.

Registration typically lasts 12 months, and if you register on 29 February, the rego expiry date is pushed out to 1 March.

While you are operating your registered drone, the Australian Federal Police, State/Territory Police, or other authorised person can ask to inspect your certificate of registration, which you must produce. So make sure you are always carrying your registration or a copy at all times when flying.

If you transfer ownership of your drone, the new owner is to make a transfer application within 28 days.

The regulations flag that the Part 101 Manual of Standards (MOS) may prescribe requirements relating to the identification or marking of drones required to be registered. At present, the MOS does not appear to make this mandatory as of yet.

CASA is authorised to disclose information relating to your registered drone to a person providing an air traffic service or an enforcement body for an enforcement related activity.

In conclusion...

As we have just seen, drones are now being regulated more like motor vehicles or piloted aircraft than toys. With the huge growth of the industry, the integration of drones into airspace, and the millions of dollars being invested by various Big Swingers, drones are growing up, and like becoming an adult – more freedom comes with more responsibility.

Fly Free!

Please note: this is information and does not constitute legal advice. However,  if you would like legal advice, please be in touch.

West Midlands Police – which has a number of DJI drones supplied by Heliguy – captured the footage from a height of around 70 metres.

The footage offered a unique perspective of the climate change demonstration, which was staged earlier this month. The aerial view gave officers useful situational awareness of the campaigners’ movements and behaviour, as well as the flow of traffic, which was disrupted because of the protestors.

A statement on the West Midlands Police website said: “This new drone footage shows how we safely policed the Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Birmingham.

“Taken from a height of around 70m, the video shows how we balanced the public’s right to protest with the need to keep traffic moving around Belgrave Middleway.

“We’re pleased to say that the event passed off without issue, but appreciate some road users were delayed.

“We achieved our aim of keeping all members of the public safe, and, while there is an offence of obstructing the highway, our officers considered the full circumstances and the extent of the disruption when policing the event.

“If police had intervened further, there could have been far greater disruption and closure of the junction.

“In turn, the protesters agreed to our request to make way for a woman who was going into labour, and also to pause their demonstration when we said that there were large queues of traffic forming in the city centre.”

West Midlands Police added that the operation had been well-planned in advance, police had liaised with protesters and the local authority, and signs advised drivers of the demonstration in the days leading up to it.

Heliguy has supplied West Midlands Police with a number of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise and Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drones.

The DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise is a lightweight drone, which is quickly deployable, easily transportable and comes with three key accessories – a spotlight, loudspeaker and beacon – which can greatly assist a range of missions. The drone also benefits from a 2x optical and 3x digital zoom camera, meaning the drone can operate without putting the operator in danger.

Following the launch of the Mavic 2 Enterprise, DJI released the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual, which comes with thermal capabilities.

Parrot’s latest iteration on its flagship Anafi drone is all about immersion. The new Anafi FPV (for first-person view) is being sold as a package with a headset that puts pilots in their drone’s perspective. But instead of a dedicated screen inside the goggles, Parrot’s approach is to have users slot a smartphone in, similar to headsets like the Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard.

The Anafi FPV package will cost $799 when it goes on sale later this month. It will include the drone, the glasses, a controller, extra propellers, a battery, a 16GB microSD card, and a USB-C cable. The Anafi FPV also comes with a new backpack that Parrot says can “double as a stable platform” for launching the drone.

FPV drones are experiencing a bit of a boom right now. Drone racers are leveraging the skills they’ve developed in competition into side gigs shooting commercials, creating videos that go viral, and even capturing live footage during sporting events like Formula Drift. DJI recently released its own pair of FPV goggles and a small, high-definition transmitter that can be attached to just about anything in an attempt to wade into this new slice of the market.

 

Parrot’s modular, smartphone-powered approach to FPV headsets is bound to offer a lower-resolution experience than the purpose-built goggles sold by companies like DJI or Fat Shark. It’s compatible with smartphones as big as 6.5 inches, though splitting a smartphone screen to two eyes tends to be a lousy experience. But as with most things Parrot does, the company is likely betting that a slightly lower price tag will be enough to sway some customers who can’t afford to shell out $700 or more for just the FPV goggles.

Parrot’s Anafi drone was viewed as a sort of direct answer to DJI’s Mavic Air when it was released in the middle of 2018, as it’s similarly small and can fold up for easy storage. The Anafi does have a unique camera that tilts up and down 180 degrees, but we were ultimately disappointed with the image quality coming off of the 1/2.4-inch, 21-megapixel sensor when we reviewed the drone last year.

The Anafi also lacks some of the flight mode and safety features found in the Mavic Air. But Parrot is trying to even the score a bit by adding a few new flight features to the Anafi FPV. There’s a cinematic mode that locks the camera’s horizon to the horizontal tilt of the drone. There’s a racing preset that promises more “aggressive”-looking footage. And the Anafi FPV has an “arcade mode” that automatically matches the drone’s flight path to the direction the camera is pointed.

None of these new modes does anything to address some of the Anafi’s performance deficiencies (when compared to the Mavic Air), but it’s nice to see Parrot continue improving its flagship drone — especially since the company is exiting the toy drone market. Parrot issued a blitz of software updates in the Anafi’s earliest days that dramatically improved the drone’s image quality, and earlier this year the company released a new version outfitted with a thermal camera. All that may not be enough to put a dent in DJI’s stranglehold on the consumer drone market, but it shows Parrot will keep trying to please the customers who keep coming back, while also still trying to win over a few new ones.

With more than two hundred players, the global drone surveillance market for energy industry is quite a competitive place to be. And not just that, a number of companies continue to foray into this market every day. Since the market is still in a nascent stage, none of the leading players have gained a strong foothold here. All these factors make the market’s business landscape extremely fragmented, which is reflected by volatile revenues of drone surveillance service providers. Aerodyne Group, Cyberhawk Innovations Ltd., Azure Drones SAS, Sharper Shape Inc., and Martek Aviation are some of leading players in the worldwide drone surveillance market for energy industry.

A new research report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), a leading market research and intelligence firm, predicts high growth of the global drone surveillance market for energy industry. According to report, the market will rise at a CAGR of a little over 20% during the period from 2018 to 2026. The market, which was valued at US$130 mn in 2017, is expected to register an incremental opportunity of U$520 mn and reach US$650 mn by the end of the forecast period.

“The increasing need for the monitoring and data collection and assessment of energy industry assets is driving the demand for drone surveillance substantially,” says a TMR analyst. There are a number of capital intensive assets in the energy industry, including wind turbines, associated distribution lines, solar panels, ports, pipelines for oil and gas distribution, mines, and offshore and onshore platforms. It is important to monitor and inspect these assets regularly so that they continue working properly without a fault.

Till now, asset monitoring has been done manually by specialists. However, manual inspection is a complicated process and takes months to complete. On the other hand, drones can multitask and, hence, can monitor assets, collect data, and assess it at the same time. This reduces the time significantly and decrease the cost required in performing these activities. Companies operational in the energy sector are increasingly deploying drones for motoring of their assets, and, consequently, adding to the growth of the global drone surveillance market for energy industry, states the research report.On the flip side, regulations regarding the use of drone are still unclear in many countries, which may hinder the market’s growth rate in the near future. Also, a number of drones feature limited flying period, which is another obstacle in the otherwise upward moving trajectory of the global drone surveillance market for energy industry.

The report also presents a comprehensive analysis of the geographical segmentation of the worldwide drone surveillance market for energy industry. Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Latin America have surfaced as the main regional markets for drone surveillance in the energy industry. North America has been leading the global market over the last few years, thanks to the presence of advance technological infrastructure. Various governments in North America continue to make amendments in rules and policies, regulating the use of drones. For instance, the government in Canada increased the weight limit of drones from 250 grams to 1 Kilogram. These changes are likely to support North America drone surveillance market for energy industry in the near future, maintaining its dominant position, notes the study.

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but Baton Rouge’s real estate community has gone a step further, banking on virtual staging, 3D renderings and drone photos as ways to attract more 21st century buyers.

Calls for “Insta-worthy” spaces aren’t confined to the retail sector. The buzzword has also entered other areas of real estate as attention-grabbing photos become a critical part of the sales and leasing process.

The trend is perhaps clearest in the residential sphere, where online photos are no longer an additive to real estate marketing, but a necessary component. When it comes to buying or renting properties, nearly every home search begins online, with deals often struck without in-person showings. For proof, look no further than Zillow or Airbnb, which have disrupted the home-buying and -renting markets enough to keep real estate agents on edge.

But visuals are equally as important in the commercial and industrial spaces, where contractors, architects and engineers use various technologies to digitally manipulate warehouses and vacant facilities in an effort to draw companies to Baton Rouge, while also needing them for internal processes.

Technology is changing the way the Capital Region handles real estate—and the only sure prediction is, there’s more to come.

B.R. houses, L.A. effects

Virtual staging is emerging as a much cheaper option than traditional onsite staging—and one that enables sellers to do far more than show what sort of furniture a room can fit.

Not only has its popularity given rise to studios specializing in the craft, such as the Hammond-based ecko360, but it has also forced traditional staging professionals to rethink the way they do business.

Seeing a need to promote her projects via Instagram and other channels, Becky Walker, founder and CEO of The Design Studio—which uses the software program Revit to give clients 3D renderings of interiors, complete with furniture and other options—hired directors for marketing and social marketing.

“The whole objective of real estate is you don’t want it to sit,” Walker says, noting staged homes have a 70% higher chance of selling than non-staged homes. “[Looking good] is almost required now.”

It’s been a good business decision for Walker, who says the 3D renderings also save her staff “a tremendous amount of time.” Rather than waiting out an eight-week shipping process before furniture comes in, they can sit behind their computers for a week and churn out renderings for a few different clients, including residential developers like Level Homes.

“We have an easier time sealing the deal because it gives the potential client more of a realistic visual of what their end result is going to be,” Walker says. “We have to pay for the software, but it doesn’t cost near what staging an actual home would.”

The ethics of virtual staging can be tricky. Many, like Walker, make sure to tell clients their renderings are simply schematic and proposed designs. But since Hollywood-quality, computer-generated imagery has become so cheap and prolific, some home sellers have gone too far—taking out walls, removing ugly panelling and even adding swimming pools, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Because of this, some efforts are underway nationally, from organizations like National Association of Realtors and the Council of Multiple Listing Services, to minimize the potentially damaging effects of digitally altering properties. They’re left wondering where to draw the line with their policies, as many listing services don’t allow images to be watermarked, which makes it difficult to ensure that disclaimers remain attached to augmented photos.

What the residential technologies ultimately yield is a quicker home-buying experience, says Connie Kyle, who manages the Perkins Road office of CJ Brown-Latter & Blum. However, she adds, any digital alterations should always be disclosed to potential buyers.

Agents in her office often deliver virtual tours with scripted voice-overs, says Kyle, an increasingly normal marketing route for them to pursue. If a buyer isn’t interested in the property based on the photos and videos, he or she won’t even visit the space; if they are, they’ll narrow down a few options based on videos and photos alone before visiting any of the homes in person.

“I don’t think virtual staging has as many pitfalls—it’s just letting you see what you can do with a room,” Kyle says. “I don’t know how much it’s helped, but professional photos definitely generate more activity.”

  

Other markets

3D footage isn’t the only technological advancement the commercial real estate industry has seen over the past several years, says Karl Landreneau, the New Orleans-based director of commercial sales and leasing for NAI Latter & Blum. Drones, data and analytics as well as video property tours have also tapped into the commercial realm.

Landreneau says he’s personally secured as many as 10 deals over 3D virtual tours through the Matterport program, after which he normally lets potential buyers view properties through an in-house, multiple screen-sharing program.

“It’s not just a walk-through of a building,” he says. “You can spin it, tilt it, cut off the roof, or look at the floor plan from outside from one of our drone photos.”

The site selection process is becoming increasingly data-driven, as well. Landreneau’s team recently finalized a new technology they plan to use for the retail sector in particular, enabling a restaurant or apparel store owner to identify their ideal demographic profile, and the agency then builds a profile and “sensitivity analysis” to narrow down the best statistical location for the business.

On-demand workspaces are also becoming more prevalent, both nationally and in Baton Rouge. Several weeks ago, for example, coworking provider Spaces announced it would open its first Louisiana location in a 18,000-square-foot Perkins Rowe suite.

Technology is also changing the way contractors like MAPP Construction operate for its industrial, commercial and retail clients, says company president Mike Polito. Through building information modeling—often shortened to BIM—MAPP can use the technology’s virtual design and construction capabilities to execute projects in much more time-efficient and, usually, less expensive ways.

He and his team use BIM and the Revit program to generate realistic 3D models of properties that involve all project stakeholders, making information sharing, collaboration and internal documentation easier for space planning purposes. Using 4D simulations, they can run the construction process digitally before breaking ground, making stakeholders feel more comfortable.

There’s also an increasing emphasis on drones, which MAPP has begun using during the marketing phase, says Polito, adding clients are fascinated by their ability to capture an entire environment.

As the local construction industry faces a massive worker shortage, he says the recent advancements are being viewed as something of saviors.

“With this technology, you’re able to eliminate obstacles,” says Polito. “Bit by bit, it’s getting rid of waste in the industry.”