Drone News & Articles

Politico Influence says that DJI worked with two different lobbying firms in Washington, presumingly to reduce the impact of tariffs on their drone business and help shape the regulatory framework for flying drones recreationally and commercially.

Theodoric Meyer of Politico Influence writes:

In another development for a Chinese company pushing back against restrictions imposed by Congress and the Trump administration, DJI Technology, a Chinese drone company, has parted ways with BGR Group. DJI has paid BGR $80,000 to lobby Congress since hiring the firm in April. DJI still retains K&L Gates and also has several in-house lobbyists, according to disclosure filings.

The news that DJI is working with lobbying firms shouldn’t really come as a surprise. The tariffs form a threat to their drone business in the US. The drone business in general is very much dependent on the rule-making process and drone regulations that are being developed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Drone painters, robot masons and bionic workers may one day be a common sight on construction sites. Advances in artificial intelligence, coupled with an ongoing labour shortage, have construction companies looking for options to the traditional labourer. Job titles such as robotics technician and virtual construction supervisor are now listed on recruiting sites, and the University of Arizona is looking to add classes on these technical advances to its civil engineering program.

The construction field is one of the least-digitized industries, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute. Tucson-based Sundt Construction Inc. has 15 drones working in fleets across Arizona, Texas and California that are tasked with capturing photo documentation and mapping data. 

For example, when building on top of a closed landfill, the drone can calculate how much material is being moved at any given moment, giving the client exact information on progress. Before, someone would be counting the number of trucks coming in and out of the area to estimate progress, not knowing how full each truck might be, explained Eric Cylwik, senior virtual construction engineer for Sundt.

“With the ability to fly these drones we can measure the exact volume of how much material has been moved,” he said. “Then we can compare that surface to the week prior to show the client the progress that’s been made.”

When clients give Sundt plans for their projects, the company can lay drone imaging over the site to identify where pipes and other infrastructure should be placed.

“Before, we took a paper copy of the plans out into the field and used a tape measure, which could take half a day,” Cylwik said. “With the drone it takes about 30 minutes in the field and an hour of computer time, crunching the data.”

Once a building’s exterior is complete, the drone can use its thermal camera to measure temperatures in the building and identify spots where there might be excessive heating or cooling escaping the building — something that was previously reported by the client after the keys were turned over, Cylwik said.

“The biggest thing has been construction documentation, which doesn’t sound amazing but is amazing,” he said. “It is so difficult to tell the construction narrative with an iPhone photo and now the different stakeholders, or financing partners, can see how things are coming along in a single image showing the entire project.”

Sundt uses three different types of drones, which can fly for about 20 minutes before needing a battery switch. All drones have an FAA-certified pilot flying the missions. While the drones aren’t currently displacing existing jobs, advancements in their capability could change that.

“Looking to the future, I think there will be applications for drones that are capable of painting high-rise buildings with a cable attachment,” Cylwik said, “They could take away those jobs but could also take away the risks in those jobs people do now.”

SAM — short for semi-automated mason — is a brick-laying robot that can lay up to 350 bricks per hour, much faster than most human bricklayers.

“Human workers deal with a variety of personal and environmental elements that robots do not,” says Robotics Business Review. “For example, they get tired, burned out, or even bored with their work.” 

Family or personal problems can also affect the quality of a human’s work.

“Robots, obviously, have none of these issues,” the Review says. “They can continue to operate, indefinitely at about the same rate and quality.”

But, speed and efficiency aren’t always the top concern in construction.

“Robots take away the human aspect of operations,” Robotics Business Review notes. “In construction, this change can be problematic because craftsmanship adds an extra layer of value to projects.”

Augmented robotics is also emerging in the construction industry. So-called exoskeletons can be worn by construction workers to improve their strength and lessen damage to their bodies during physical labour.

Dean Papajohn, associate professor in the civil and architectural engineering and mechanics department at the University of Arizona, embraces the technology.

“We’ve got to prepare our students for what’s next,” he said. “Academic institutions don’t always keep up with what is current.”

Papajohn was a civil engineer manager with Pima County’s Department of Transportation when he met with UA civil engineering staff.

“We said we would like to hire the civil engineering students, if they had some background in construction,” he said.

Two problems: no one in the civil engineering department knew much about construction, and the UA didn’t have the money to add the curriculum.

The private sector stepped up to fund the program and Papajohn became a full-time professor in 2015. This fall he plans to introduce civil engineering students to drones and their role in earthwork measurements, thermal mapping and traffic patterns.

“Our students are engineers and will be overseeing projects but need to understand what’s happening at construction sites,” Papajohn said. “I don’t see, at least in the near future, where robotics and artificial intelligence are going to take over ... but we’re moving more in that direction.”

AeroVironment has been a leading manufacturer of drones for military and security applications since they were founded in 1971. The Aerovironment Quantix takes the company’s deep history in unmanned aircraft manufacture and operations to the commercial realm.  With a focus on the agricultural market, the Quantix offers a feature set that combines the benefits of vertical lift-off and horizontal flight.  It’s a serious tool for agronomists and others: a field-proven endurance platform.

While precision agriculture was one of the first industries to adopt drone technology, it’s still a new field.  Aerovironment is making a major donation to move the field forward, providing 87 Quantix drones and AV DSS Ecosystems to 35 U.S. university agriculture departments.

It’s a generous and encouraging move from Aerovironment.  As one of the few publicly traded UAV companies in the U.S., with a long history in manufacturing unmanned aircraft and operating systems, AeroVironment is making it clear that the commercial industry and precision agriculture are worth their investment.

AeroVironment, Inc., a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems for both defence and commercial applications, today (22 Aug) announced its 2019 Quantix and AV DSS University Collaboration Project. The project’s focus is to advance academic research, applications and crop production practices to improve the future of farming through the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and advanced data analytics.

Through the project, AeroVironment has donated 87 Quantix™ hybrid drone and AV DSS™ ecosystems to the agricultural departments of 35 universities throughout the U.S., including Purdue University, The Ohio State University, Cornell University, University of Louisiana-Monroe, University of Florida, University of Georgia, North Dakota State University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and many others.

Participating universities will employ AeroVironment’s Quantix hybrid drone and AV DSS data analytics platform in a variety of in-field trials, application usage studies and precision agriculture systems research covering areas such as crop nutrient and input management, artificial intelligence for detecting weeds, pests and diseases, and improved accuracy of crop yield prediction. Participating universities will share their hands-on experience, along with use-case insights that can improve in-field performance and advance the adoption of drone-based technologies for the agriculture industry.

“Working with the team at AeroVironment moved our drone-based agriculture research forward beyond what we could have done otherwise,” noted professor Quirine Ketterings, Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program. “Ultimately, our goal is to develop accurate corn yield predictions based on in-season nitrogen applications to achieve an optimal economic return for the producer.”

Featuring automated precision flight operation and an innovative VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) hybrid design, Quantix is purpose-built for crop scouting and can survey up to 400 acres in just 45 minutes. During flight, integrated sensors capture high-resolution colour and multispectral imagery via dual 18-megapixel cameras. On-board processing wirelessly transmits true colour and NDVI imagery to the included operating tablet as soon as the drone lands, allowing growers to investigate issues while still in the field. For more detailed analysis, Quantix seamlessly integrates with AV DSS to perform advanced image processing and data analytics, including True Color, NDVI, GNDVI, canopy coverage, anomaly detection and more, providing users with deeper insights into plant emergence, vegetative health, inputs and resource management.

“AeroVironment’s donation of Quantix and AV DSS will enable participating universities to quickly and easily gain the on-demand field intelligence they need to advance multiple areas of agriculture research, while enhancing the understanding and application of drone-based technology,” said Rick Pedigo, vice president of business development at AeroVironment. “With on-demand access to high-resolution imagery and advanced data analytics, we’re preparing the latest generation of farmers to employ drone technology, such as Quantix and AV DSS, throughout their farming practices, improving crop production and farming efficiencies for years to come.”

One of Australia's top photo competitions has taken to new heights in 2019 — awarding a drone photographer its grand prize for the first time, for a snap of sharks circling a beached whale.

His drone captured the fin whale in the azure waters of Cheynes Beach, near Albany.

"It was unreal, arriving at a peaceful coastal town with a pristine beach and then seeing this huge whale not even five metres from shore — we then noticed the thrashing close by and realised that a few sharks had also stopped by," Mr Beetson said.

"I launched the drone to see the aerial view and captured a sequence of photographs, this shot was one of the last ones I took and I was very lucky that the shark came back for a look."

Mr Beetson's image was one of 2,219 entered in the annual competition.

"Despite seeing millions of nature photographs over the decades, we have never seen anything that remotely resembles this image," the judges said of Mr Beetson's photo.

"Unique and exciting, it reveals incredible beauty in death."

By contrast, Melissa Williams-Brown's drone picture of a dead kangaroo represented an uglier truth about environmental degradation.

She won the 'Our Impact' category for the photo taken at the Menindee Lakes in New South Wales, which have been deliberately drained as New South Wales and the Murray-Darling Basin battle a prolonged drought.

"The patterns of the many animal footprints in the drying creek reminded me of paintings created by Indigenous Australians and those patterns in the soil kept pulling me back to this specific location over several days," she told the ABC.

"When I saw the outstretched kangaroo, one of Australia's most iconic native animals and a symbol of our nation moving forward, lying dead in the intricate patterns around the drying watering hole, it took my breath away."

South Australian Museum's Director Brian Oldman welcomed the success of drone photos in this year's competition.

"By having technology such as drones accessible to photographers, it broadens the scope to capture moments that often aren't seen by the naked eye," Mr Oldman said.

"It's a reflection of the continuous growth in photographers adopting new technology year on year."

Both the South Australian Museum and the Powerhouse Museum in New South Wales will showcase every finalist in exhibitions until November and October respectively.

While drone shots were among those highlighted by the judges this year, other photos taken in more traditional ways were just as striking.

A drone soared over a blazing hot cornfield in northeastern Colorado on a recent morning, snapping images with an infrared camera to help researchers decide how much water they would give the crops the next day.

After a brief, snaking flight above the field, the drone landed and the researchers removed a handful of memory cards. Back at their computers, they analyzed the images for signs the corn was stressed from a lack of water.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture station outside Greeley and other sites across the Southwest are experimenting with drones, specialized cameras and other technology to squeeze the most out of every drop of water in the Colorado River — a vital but beleaguered waterway that serves an estimated 40 million people.

Remote sensors measure soil moisture and relay the readings by Wi-Fi. Cellphone apps collect data from agricultural weather stations and calculate how much water different crops are consuming. Researchers deliberately cut back on water for some crops, trying to get the best harvest with the least amount of moisture — a practice called deficit irrigation.

In the future, tiny needles attached to plants could directly measure how much water they contain and signal irrigation systems to automatically switch on or off.

"It's like almost every month somebody's coming up with something here and there," said Don Ackley, water management supervisor for the Coachella Valley Water District in Southern California. "You almost can't keep up with it."

Researchers and farmers are running similar experiments in arid regions around the world. The need is especially pressing in seven U.S. states that rely on the Colorado River: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The river has plenty of water this summer after an unusually snowy winter in the mountains of the U.S. West. But climatologists warn the river's long-term outlook is uncertain at best and dire at worst, and competition for water will only intensify as the population grows and the climate changes.

The World Resources Institute says the seven Colorado River states have some of the highest levels of water stress in the nation, based on the percentage of available supplies they use in a year. New Mexico was the only state in the nation under extremely high water stress.

The federal government will release a closely watched projection Thursday on whether the Colorado River system has enough water to meet all the demands of downstream states in future years.

The river supplies more than 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometres) of farmland and supports a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry, including a significant share of the nation's winter vegetables, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages most of the big dams and reservoirs in the Western states.

The Pacific Institute, an environmental group, says the river also irrigates about 700 square miles (1,820 square kilometres) in Mexico.

Agriculture uses 57% to 70% of the system's water in the U.S., researchers say. The problem facing policymakers is how to divert some of that to meet the needs of growing cities without drying up farms, ranches and the environment.

The researchers' goal is understanding crops, soil and weather so completely that farmers know exactly when and how much to irrigate.

When you invest in a drone to take some stunning video footage from the skies, you agree to abide by certain rules – and that includes not adding weapons or fireworks to your autonomous flying machine, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has warned.

The US agency has issued an update on the matter, seemingly prompted by the sharing of videos by people who've had their drones tricked out with all manner of dangerous equipment. A maximum fine of $25,000 is possible for those who break the rules.

"Perhaps you’ve seen online photos and videos of drones with attached guns, bombs, fireworks, flamethrowers, and other dangerous items," explains the FAA.

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"Do not consider attaching any items such as these to a drone because operating a drone with such an item may result in significant harm to a person and to your bank account."

The term "dangerous weapon" covers a lot of ground and extends to the use of fireworks as well as firearms, and more elaborate weapons like flamethrowers. Don't do it – it's not worth the YouTube hits.

Of course, there's also the high chance of actually injuring someone with a weaponized drone, which then means you're in all sorts of other trouble with the law.

You can see the FAA's full list of drone-related rules and regulations here (the UK rules are here and the Australian rules are here). You need to keep your drone under 400 feet (about 122 meters) when flying it, keep your drone in your sight, and of course keep it away from airports.

You also need to abide by the rules of wherever you're flying your drone too – the small aircraft are banned in a lot of parks and public spaces, for example.

A new perspective of our beautiful bush city is set to take Goldfields marketing to new heights.

Photographer and drone pilot Chuck Thomas has recently launched Postcards with Altitude — a new business dedicated to taking drone photos of the golden outback for marketing purposes.

The initiative is an extension of his photography business, Remote Digital Imagery.

After working in marketing for Goldfields tourism, Mr Thomas said he saw an opportunity to update marketing content for the region.

He bought a drone and has started working with tourist centres and stores.

“I saw an opportunity to create and produce postcards and merchandise through drone photography,” he said, "I think some of the biggest tourist attractions are the history of Kalgoorlie and the ability to interact with that history. You can go from town and museums then drive out of town and see things that are 100 years old just sitting in the bush. This place offers an opportunity to explore recent history outside of the confines of what you see in Perth, a museum or a classroom.”

So far Mr Thomas has captured the town’s famous outback bush two-up shed and the historic Hannan Street from the sky.

He has plans to take photos of everything and anything in the region, and is already working through regulatory requirements to take aerial photos of the Super Pit.

“I’d love to be able to see my work on display on the racks of the local visitors centre and give a unique perspective you don’t see on postcards currently,” he said.

“I think the Goldfields and Kalgoorlie is that last frontier... before you really go out. It does feel like it’s the last bit of the wild west.”

Impossible Aerospace’s US-1 quadcopter recently achieved a milestone of crossing the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on a single charge.

The drone completed the 72-minute operation on Aug. 6. The aircraft used for the flight was an unmodified-production US-1, carrying both a FLIR Duo Pro R camera and HD video transmitter. With and against the prevailing winds, the US-1 flew distances of 29 and 21 miles, respectively.

“The US-1 is the first major breakthrough in drone performance since the introduction of the quadcopter,” says Spencer Gore, CEO of Impossible Aerospace. “More importantly, it is the first battery-electric aircraft to rival the performance of a conventionally powered system.”

The US-1 uses propellers instead of wings to fight gravity, which requires more energy per mile but allows the aircraft to hover in place, the company explains.

According to the company, the flight was planned to avoid operations over people, protected wilderness areas and preparations for the annual Burning Man celebration. It was conducted under 14 CFR 107.25, with the pilot operating as a passenger of a moving vehicle over a sparsely populated area and maintaining visual line of sight with the aircraft.

“The ultimate vision of Impossible Aerospace is to build long-range electric aircraft that carry goods and people around the world, emissions-free,” says Gore. “But electrification changes literally everything about an aircraft, and many of these changes will take years to prove safe enough for passenger transport. In the meantime, we believe it’s prudent to push the envelope of electric aircraft using unmanned aircraft and to advance drone regulations by piloting use cases that save lives.”

The striking panorama is eight 24mp photos stitched together. It was snapped using an X7 camera and long exposure setting.

Vancouver arguably looks great at any angle it’s photographed, but the city looks particularly stunning in this image.

Taken via drone, about 300ft in the air, from the south side of False Creek, it’s a point of view very few get to see of the city.

Jon Ross and colleague Jacob Crawford, from Jon Ross Films, had just finished shooting an opening sequence for the NHL draft in early July, when they noticed the stunning sunset occurring and had to send the drone up to capture the moment.

“The sun was setting and it looked gorgeous so we thought we’d see what some photos looked like,” Ross, who has been flying drones for the past nine years, said.

“Each photo was a long exposure (about 3-second shutter) which meant shooting each of the eight photos multiple times until we got a sharp image,” Ross explained. “It always amazes me that the drone is able to keep the camera steady enough for a long exposure to be sharp, this is difficult even when using a tripod on the ground…”

Ross told Vancouver is Awesome he’d flown model aircrafts most of his life and ventured into drone photography and film-making because of the creative freedom it offered.

“I love being able to put the camera wherever I want, to get the angle I want,” he explained.

“A lot of times it’s tricky if you’re stuck on the ground, you can’t quite get the angle you’re looking for. But with the drone, and all the vertical space to move around, you can position yourself however looks best.

“You’re not limited. You’re seeing things from a different perspective.”

Referring to his latest city snap, Ross said there was no way to see Vancouver from that vantage point, without a drone.

“It’s too low for helicopters and aeroplanes. So you get these unique angles, which is refreshing,” he said.

While you may think, ‘anyone can do this’ it does take quite a bit of experience – plus, there are a few hoops you have to jump through first if you want to create magical photos with a drone.

“In order to get a shot like that you have to have your drone license and all your permissions in place with Transport Canada and NAV Canada to fly over the water,” Ross said. “You also have to have a dock secured [in this instance]. We had private property to fly from.”

Ross, who has been working with camera drones professionally the past five years, said it was crucial to follow the rules.

“The rules have been there for quite a while now, they changed in June but not much for commercial operators,” he said.

“Vancouver is a tricky one because it is controlled airspace and there is a lot of air traffic with the hospital, but once you have it all figured out it’s not too bad.”

While there are a few hurdles to jump, Ross said it was more than worthwhile.

“I encourage everyone to get out there and give it a go – it’s a lot of fun,” he said.

Mining giant BHP, formally BHP Billiton, is using drones throughout its mining operations in Australia to save around $5 million every year. Making the switch from manned aircraft and workers saves BHP time and money and improves workplace safety.

In a news release, BHP stated that it can cut costs of inspections, surveying, and mapping by an estimated $5 million every year by switching to drones from current methods.

BHP uses drones at its Queensland coal mines to inspect blasting holes and capture the fumes. It also uses drones to inspect cranes and towers at its Olympic Dam operations in South Australia. BHP has also trialled inspection drones on its ocean freighters, giving operators various data points from a single mission and improving safety.

Drones provide workers with safer working environments, as BHP will no longer require humans to set out the inspections or fly aircraft within visible range of the equipment needing an inspection. Rashpal Bhatti, BHP’s vice president of marketing, states that drones can cut inspection times by 75%, making inspections on its freighter ships only 15 minutes:

The drones in use take video, infrared video, measure gases in the air, measure the tension on ropes, sending it all back in real-time without risking operators to go into potentially dangerous situations.

BHP is also using drones in its US plants to inspect the flare tips that were previously done during plant shutdowns. The drones are also being used by Heritage Manager Daniel Bruckner to map and track cultural heritage sites that are located near BHP mine sites. He says:

For me, the bigger picture is what this technology allows us to do that could never have been done before, and for us, that means being able to share and preserve cultural heritage that might otherwise have been lost.