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An experienced filmmaker, who has used the DJI Inspire 2 to capture incredible footage for the BBC and L’Oréal, has revealed how the drone and its cinematic cameras rekindled his passion for aerial photography.

Having initially struggled to shoot quality footage with hefty and expensive equipment aboard a paraglider and other small aircraft – and initially not a fan of drones – a frustrated Chris Boyes was all set to give up his dream of breaking into the industry.

But this all changed when he caught a glimpse of footage from the DJI Inspire 2 and the X5S camera.

In his own words, it was breathtaking, and it was enough to reignite that fire in his belly and reinvigorate his passion for aerial filmmaking. The dream was alive once again. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Chris and his sound engineer friend Peter Roesner teamed up to form 5kdigitalfilm and with the Inspire 2, X5Sand the X7 at the heart of their operations they have developed a formidable reputation for themselves, capturing scenes for the BBC’s The Planets, with Brian Cox; the opening sequences for The Snow Wolf, a blue-chip Natural History production; and commercials for L’Oréal and Gösser Beer.

Looking at this mesmerising footage below – entitled Winter in the Alps and captured by this talented duo with an Inspire 2 and X7 – it is easy to see why Chris fell in love with this powerful drone/camera combination.

Chris and Peter’s venture has been supported by Heliguy – a DJI Gold Partner which supplied them with the Inspire 2 and the X5S and X7. In Chris’ own words, Heliguy has been a constant source of help, thanks to its ‘genuinely human and caring approach to every aspect of aftersales, service and support’.

In this Heliguy Insider blog post, we meet Chris to chat about the Inspire 2 and how it has helped him push the boundaries and capture some truly remarkable content.

In The Beginning….

Chris’ passion for aerial filming started with Sir David Attenborough and paragliding – two things that you wouldn’t immediately associate with one another.

As a moderately successful B cameraman, he had already worked on a few bigger Natural History productions, and as a teenager he was captivated by the great man’s narration while flying over these epic African vistas.

It captured Chris’ imagination and he was desperate to produce these shots for himself. A subsequent relocation to Austria and developing a love for paragliding seemed to offer the perfect platform to realise this dream. But, it didn’t go quite to plan.

“Unfortunately, my first serious attempts at higher-end aerial filming were met with only very limited success,” Chris recalled.

“Filming from a motorised paraglider meant that we were slow, there was no stabilisation and I had only a very narrow field of view to the side between the motor cage and the pilot.

“So I bought some very heavy and expensive Gyro stabilisers, which in no way compensated for the hole they left in my pocket. That Cineflex feel was still just out of reach. The tech was letting me down, we were making it too complicated.

“I tried filming out of small aircraft but the same problems prevailed, just at higher speeds.”

Chris’ dreams of becoming a top-class aerial filmmaker were hanging by a thread and he was on the verge of giving up.

Then came the Inspire series.

The Breakthrough Moment – The DJI Inspire 2

In November 2016, DJI unveiled the Inspire 2 – a best-in-class drone aimed at professional filmmakers and photographers, thanks to its incredible image-capture capabilities, speed and performance in difficult conditions.

Almost three years on, it is still an extremely popular aircraft and continues to be the go-to tool for industry experts.

For Chris, the launch of the Inspire 2 was his Eureka! moment and the catalyst for the success which was to follow.

He said: “I must admit, after struggling with paragliders and small aircraft, I’d given up a bit on the aerial dream and was in no way a fan of the humming hovering plastic, until I saw the first footage from the Inspire 2 and X5S.

“What? 5.2K Raw and Pro Pres 4444 in 4K! Okay, it is only 4/3, but the images were simply breathtaking!

“A good friend of mine, Peter, who happened to be a successful sound engineer and talented drone pilot, suggested we get an Inspire 2. I couldn’t sell my Gyros quick enough.”

And 5kdigitalfilm was born.

It was to be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration. But while the Inspire 2 is a powerful tool, Chris and Peter had to think outside of the box to maximise their talent and the drone’s potential – especially when they were a relatively small fish in a large and incredibly busy pond!

Chris said: “The boom had started – every second documentary cameraman was buying an Inspire 2 and the market was soon flooded.

“Then I realised something which was the key to our success. I too, at the beginning, was working as a regular cameraman and offering the drone shots on the side, but I struggled between the two. At the end of the day they are two completely different approaches to filming.

“On the ground you creatively frame or you have a fixed movement, but in the air, these things are happening simultaneously and constantly. Until you get a feeling for all the possibilities that a 3D flying camera has, you will mentally always be on the ground.

“So, we took those many years in the TV and film industry and concentrated 100 per cent on implementing all we had learnt to get the most out of this flying wonder. We started going out and shooting landscapes, we practised, we got better, and we edited a few clips for Vimeo and were lucky enough to grab the attention of the right people.”

The rest happened by itself and huge clients like the BBC came knocking.

Praise for the DJI Inspire 2

The Inspire 2 and its cinematic X5S and X7 cameras have been vital tools in Chris and Peter’s filmmaking arsenal.

In Chris’ opinion, they are good enough, powerful enough and reliable enough to use on all jobs, no matter how big, tricky or ambitious.

He said: “The Inspire 2 and the X5S and X7 cameras have in no doubt brought with them great possibilities for effective, economical and flexible aerials in film production.

“The picture quality offered by both the X5S and X7 cameras in the right hands is in my opinion good enough for every level of film production. The new Log and Gamut RGB colour space grade up brilliantly with the best of cinema cameras from Arri or RED, and the footage is as much at home in a commercial or feature film as it is in an epic nature documentary.”

Yet, to Chris’ surprise, there are still some in the industry who are not sold on the Inspire 2’s capabilities – believing, wrongly, that it isn’t on par with more expensive models.

Chris said: “The biggest problem still is those directors or directors of photography who simply won’t accept that such a relatively cheap set up can compete with a heavy lifter carrying an Arri. But it can, and it now does, more and more.

“The Inspire 2 flies longer, you don’t have to fiddle with it constantly, and because you haven’t got £100,000-worth of kit flying around, you tend to try so much more and take that extra risk, which often rewards you with the better shot.

“Not only that, but it’s simply so much more flexible. You can shoot dolly shots or complicated crane shots in minutes that would usually take hours of setting up heavy equipment, costing the production thousands.

“We always have two Inspire 2 aircraft and camera kits fully functional at any one time – it’s a minimum if you are going to do it professionally. On set, you have to have a back-up in case of a problem or in the worst case that you sink one, which we have, quite literally, in a lake.”

There’s No I In Team

Make no mistake, this high-tech equipment has played a vital part in what Chris and Peter have achieved.

But another essential ingredient has been teamwork and understanding each other’s strengths.

Chris said: “There is no doubt that for us the key to success was developing the teamwork skills in a solely dual operation set up, whereby the cameraman and pilot learn to see and react to each other’s actions almost intuitively. This gives you a big advantage as you then only have to concentrate on framing and creative tasks.

“There are many people offering aerials with the Inspire 2, but if you can offer content instead of just a service then you are already in the top 20%.

“There are many good pilots but without an aerial director of photography and this teamwork with its intuitive communication between them, the talent is wasted. I have seen great pilots, and great directors of photography, but without drone camera operating experience, completely mess it up. The experience, together in a team with good communication, is the key to good results.

“We now have a team of three extremely experienced pilots and two aerial directors of photography and have permits to fly in most of central Europe. We have all flown hundreds of hours together, so when we turn up on set, we can concentrate on the shots and nothing else.”

And it’s working wonders. Just take a look at this showreel – further evidence of the team’s high levels of expertise and the powerful combination that is the Inspire 2 and the X7/X5S.

Heliguy Gives The Team A Helping Hand

While the equipment, team members and creativity have been crucial for driving forward Chris’ venture, another fundamental factor has been having a company which can support their drone programme. And this is where Heliguy has stepped in.

Heliguy is one of DJI’s largest and trusted European enterprise channel partners and is recognised as a Gold Partner, certifying our expert knowledge and services to enterprise customers.

Not only did we supply 5kdigitalfilm with its equipment, but we have also delivered a comprehensive package of aftercare, thanks to our dedicated account managers and expert technicians.

I would like to thank everyone at Heliguy for their support over the years. Heliguy understands what most companies have failed to – that it’s not just about selling stuff, but a genuinely human and caring approach to every aspect of aftersales, service and support.

Chris Boyes

The Launch Of A New Website

Thanks to all of the incredible content that Chris and his team has captured with the drone over the years, they have come together to launch a new website – aerial-footage.com – featuring a wealth of eye-catching material, including breathtaking vistas and stunning forest scenes in Austria and Italy.

Chris said: “After nearly three years shooting, we invested much personal time and emotion in our new stock footage website, aerial-footage.com. It has in no way paid for all the hours we put in, but it’s like a portfolio of blood, sweat and tears and all the wonderful moments spent together flying, and if someone buys something, then it’s a bonus.”

The new website certainly pays homage to the team’s incredible work, in what has very much been a labour of love.

Chris said: “Aerial filming or photography is a wonderful career that can take you to many new places and meet many new people.

“I guess it’s like anything – if you love what you do and you have a bit of talent then there is nothing stopping you, even in this relatively saturated branch of film production.

“Keep flying and shooting footage as we never stop learning new things. Buy lots of hard drive space and if you are lucky enough you may be able to sell your footage someday.”

Drones and their various applications continue to grow in popularity as entrepreneurs find more and more uses for them. If the idea of running a drone business and offering very niche, specialised services appeals to you, this could be the business idea for you.

Before you start investing in different types of drones, here are 10 examples of drone business ideas that can offer you insights and strategies into this new industry:

1. An Advertising Business

You can use a drone in advertising to offer your clients innovative campaign options. The options are endless. This could be the drone business idea for you. Before you start investing in drones, here is a successful drone business that you can gain strategies from:

Business Name: DroneCast

Website: https://www.dronecast.com/

Established Date: 2015

About the business:

DroneCast offers both indoor and outdoor aerial advertising platforms. Their clients can enjoy the services of drone-based banner advertising. They also offer promo drops, where their drones will drop products into client’s hands. DroneCast offers custom solutions for every client. 

Innovative business offering

Related: 25 Of The Most Successful Business Ideas In South Africa

In addition to all the in-house services DroneCast provide, they also partner with event management companies to offer unique advertising platforms for sponsors.

2. Drone videography

Drone videography is the ability to capture both still images and video by using a drone. If this business idea excites you, this could be the drone business idea for you. Before you invest in a drone, here is an example of a successful business you can gain some insights from:

Business Name: Dronegenuity

Website: https://www.dronegenuity.com/

About the business:

Dronegenuity offers drone videos and photography services for their customers. They have the flexibility needed to adapt their services for any project and provide solutions to achieve quality results.

Innovative business offering

In addition to their aerial video and photography services, they also offer commercial real estate photography, marketing imagery, residential real estate photography, inspection services, as well as mapping and survey services and thermal imaging.

3. Offer Drone Courses

There are a growing number of people who want to know how to operate a drone. If the idea of offering certified drone courses interests you, this could be the drone business idea for you. Before you start advertising, here is an example of a business you can gain strategies from:

Related: 3 Ways Drone Startups Are Making Dangerous Workplaces Safer

Business Name: Drone-X

Website: https://www.drone-x.co.za/

Established Date:

About the business:

Drone-X provides quality training courses to ensure its clients have the required knowledge and skill to operate safely and legally. They offer introductory courses and RPL Courses.

Innovative business offering

In addition to the drone flying courses, Drone-X also offers custom drone construction for Endurance Drones.

4. Making and Selling of Maps

There are numerous drone applications for aerial mapping and surveys. Your new drone’s business idea could be to offer some if not all, of these aerial application options. Before you buy the right kind of drone, here is an example of a drone business that you can gain insights from:

Business Name: DC Geomatics

Website: https://www.dcgeomatics.co.za/

About the business:

DC Geomatics offer services for the agriculture, surveillance and mining industries. They also offer aerial inspections, aerial assessments and aerial and lidar surveys.

Innovative business offering

In addition to their versatile services, DC Geomatics offer RPAS certification and training for commercial drone/UAV operation.

5. A Wedding and Special Events Photography Business

Drones ensure wedding couples have interesting and different photographic shots from various angles and heights. If offering one-of-a-kind wedding photographs sounds interesting, this could be the drone business idea for you:

Related: 5 Ways Drones Are Changing the World

Business Name: Airborne Visuals

Website: //www.airbornevisuals.co.uk/

About the business:

Airborne Visuals offers aerial photography and filming for their clients’ weddings. They can also work alongside a ground-based photographer and liaise with them on ways to optimise their time and plan the best shots possible. 

Innovative business offering

In addition to their aerial video and photography services, Airborne Visuals offer the latest in high end UAV technology and stunning UHD 4K cameras to offer the best aerial images.

6. Agricultural Drones

Drones can assist both large and small farming operations with water and disease management services. Drones can also assist with better planting and crop rotation, while offering a higher degree of all-around knowledge of how crops are progressing.

Business Name: Aerobotics

Website: https://www.aerobotics.com/

About the business:

Aerobotics offers early problem detection, targeted scouting and tree monitoring. With every drone flight they receive accurate statistics on tree health, tree counts, individual tree size and canopy area.

Innovative business offering

In addition to all the above services, Aerobotics also offer management zones, which allow their clients to plan for irrigation and fertilizer scheduling.

7. Filmmaking

Are you a filmmaker? Do you want to give your service an edge? Then this could be the drone business idea for you. Before you invest in a drone, here is a drone filmmaking business you can gain some insights from.

Business Name: Freshly Cut

Website: //freshlycut.co.za/

Established Date: 2015

About the business:

Related: 20 Innovative Business Ideas Doing Well Overseas (That Could Make You Money In SA)

Freshly Cut offers aerial drone imagery that they convert into a corporate video or film piece. They have examples of footage options; which clients can view to get a greater understanding of what they’re looking for.

Innovative business offering

In addition to aerial drone imagery and editing services, Freshly Cut also offer animation services, event videography, and television pieces. 

8. A Drone Inspection Company             

Drones are able to reach areas that are unsafe or toxic for people. This way you can inspect the area without putting a person at risk. This could be your drone business idea. Before you launch your start-up, here is an example of a drone business you can gain insights from:

Business Name: ADS Drone Services

Website: //adsdroneservices.com/

About the business:

ADS Drone Services offer tower inspections, construction site services and roof inspections to assist companies with the safety of their ongoing projects. 

Their service involves a two-person team, one who flies the drone, while another takes the photos to ensure the best possible images while maintaining the highest level of safety.

Innovative business offering

In addition to their inspection services, ADS Drone Services also offers real estate marketing services, events and special occasion photography and videography and photogrammetry mapping and modelling.

9. Security Agency

Drones don’t take breaks and don’t make errors in their reports, making them perfect for security services. If using drones to ensure the ongoing security of client’s facilities is interesting to you, then perhaps this is the drone business idea for you.

Related: 11 Uniquely South African Business Ideas

Before you invest in numerous drones, here is a successful drone business you can gain some insights from:

Business Name: My Drone

Website: https://mydroneservices.com/.

Established Date: 2016

About the business:

My Drone offers an any-time-you-need it security system. Their services work seamlessly with their clients existing system and offers to extend their clients reach and speed of their security monitoring.

Innovative business offering

In addition to security monitoring services, My Drone also cater to the oil and gas industries. They offer agricultural services, infrastructure inspections and disaster management and humanitarian services.

10. A Drone Leasing Business

If you want to be a part of the drone business industry, but don’t want to offer the services yourself, you can always rent out drones for those looking to use them on an ad hoc basis. If this sounds interesting, then this could be the drone business idea for you.

Before you start investing in drones, here is a drone business you can gain some strategies from:

Business Name: Heliguy

Website: https://www.heliguy.com/

Established Date: 2008

About the business:

Heliguy rents out a large variety of drones to professional pilots. Their aim is to cater to those with certified licenses who need a specific tool for a short-term mission or project. 

Innovative business offering

In addition to renting out various types of drones, Heliguy also provides a one-stop-shop for commercial operators and industry clients. They offer sales advice, equipment support training, loss adjustment assessment and insurance cover.

Growing exponentially in popularity, drones have become increasingly accessible to the average consumer, bringing with them a variety of exciting opportunities for those in the music industry, from recording live concerts to creating exciting aerial visuals and more

Drones have been a hot commodity for a few years now, after finally hitting the market and becoming accessible for the average consumer to purchase. These unmanned aerial vehicles have tons of potential uses, and have been used both recreationally and to deliver an upgraded experience in a variety of entertainment platforms.

There is often an awkward period with new technology, as marketing teams and technology companies look for the best way to apply them in different industries. In the music industry, drones have been found to add a lot of value when used to record live music performances from a better perspective, as well as to create awesome light visuals for audiences to enjoy.

Drones Helping Musicians Increase Showmanship

Robotics and AI are now found in many industries, helping take basic tasks off the hands of humans in order to give people the opportunity to focus on more advanced and elaborate tasks that require critical thinking. Private drone sales are on track to break $82 billion within the first decade of sales, as more people become attracted to the creative entertainment potential they offer. Tech startups have seized the opportunity to apply the new technology to the music industry, in order to target music producers, marketing teams, and performance designers who are constantly searching for ways to take songwriting and performances to the next level.

In the music industry, drones have been used to create new video recording opportunities in concerts, allowing for shots to be recorded from higher and wider angles. This type of video content helps provide a new and larger perspective of an artist’s concert experience, which can be used to create more impactful promotional content, or content that can potentially be used for music documentaries.

Drones have also been used to amplify the concert experience for major artists, such as huge pop and R&B artist Drake, or famous metal band Metallica. In order to add some extra zing to their live performances, these artists have used drones from the indoor drone show company, Verity. Founded in 2014, this company was created to bring technology and the arts together by using tech to design influential light shows that add a new element for musicians and other performers to use as part of their performance. Drone light shows help to transport audiences to another world as part of a collective art and music experience.

 2They can also be used to enhance large-scale live performances, often by streaming the concert on big screens for concert goers who are in the back. With advanced cameras, drones can produce high-quality photography and videography opportunities that ensure no part of the audience misses the details of the performance. Both LED light show drones and those used to further broadcast the performance help increase audience satisfaction, which can make concert a more memorable experience for the audience.

Drones are also being used to enhance music videos for artists by creating mesmerizing aerial shots that take the videos to a cinematic level. Oftentimes, creative and elaborate music videos can engage audiences enough to take a good song to the top of the charts — and sometimes even make headlines. A bold and impactful music video can spark conversation and cause songs to trend on social media, and by using drone technology to get shots that were previously unattainable, music videos can be taken to a whole new level.

Tips for Artists

If you’re looking to use drones in your music, there are a couple ways to get started. The first — and perhaps most obvious — is to purchase a drone and start filming. There is a veritable smorgasbord of drones available on the market, and choosing the right one isn’t always the easiest of tasks. However, if you want to get some real cinematic shots, you’re going to want one with a really good camera. Drones that include a 4K camera because will offer the highest level of quality for videos. My Drone Lab has a great list of drones for filming. If you’re unable to do the drone flying yourself, you can hire a certified drone pilot to record beautiful video for your band’s portfolio and website, too!

Learning how to operate a drone and edit the video it captures isn’t for the faint of heart. If you’d prefer to dip your toes into the world of drones (rather than diving in), you can purchase stock drone footage for use in your music videos. You can find said footage at the big stock sites such as Shutterstock and Adobe, or at smaller specialty sites like DroneStock. Whether you capture it yourself or purchase footage, aerial shots can make for original video content, whether to use for music videos, online promotional content, or entertaining social media posts.

Versatility of Drone Use Across Industries

As drones become more common around the world and more valuable applications for them are found, they are slowly becoming the standard in many industries. In the entertainment industry, their use has been profound; drones can often be found flying above crowds at sports games and concerts. However, in emergency services scenarios, drones have been offering huge safety and life-saving benefits to personnel who may otherwise need to put themselves in dangerous situations to analyze the risk of natural or man-made disasters.

The impact drones have extends far beyond their use in music. However, each industry that uses new technology is able to find a home for these tools that can improve what they are able to offer, and each of these contributions matters. With each new use we find for technology like drones, we are advancing a cause. In the music industry, drones are being used to create impactful and awe-inspiring art that provide audiences with a brand new experience that can stir new emotions in individuals. Wherever they are used, drones help bring something innovative to the table, which is all we can really ask of modern technology.

 DroneBase, the leading global drone services company, today announced that it has acquired Betterview’s drone roof inspection software and services, establishing the company’s first foray into analytics and first purchase. The transition will seamlessly carry over both the software technology and customers to DroneBase, while Betterview will solely focus on its risk management platform, which is based on manned aircraft and satellite imagery.

“DroneBase’s mission is to provide businesses with fast, affordable, and reliable data to make better-informed decisions, and we’ll continue to fulfill that mission by providing drone services to our analytics partners and an end-to-end solution for Betterview’s clients,” said Dan Burton, Founder and CEO of DroneBase. “Having worked with Betterview for almost two years, we have been impressed with their platform and its solutions. We will continue to enhance the technology by pairing our trove of aerial data with analytics and artificial intelligence.” 

The Betterview drone inspection software, now called DroneBase Insights, aims to help insurers and property managers to assess damage and mitigate risk for commercial properties. The platform is currently used by industry leaders, such as Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies. DroneBase Insights will allow the drone services company to tap into its years worth of aerial data and better serve partners in insurance, property management, commercial real estate, and more. 

“Since late 2017, DroneBase has been a trusted partner of Betterview and they have consistently proven to be reliable, fast, and customer-centric,” said David Lyman, Co-Founder and CEO of Betterview. “One of the benefits of this transaction is that it will allow P&C insurers to triage their drone inspections by quickly identifying high-risk properties via Betterview’s platform or API. When carriers need to dig deeper, they can order a drone inspection from DroneBase and receive a detailed roof report that contains analysis along with high-resolution imagery.”  

By selling its software to DroneBase, Betterview has fully shifted its focus to its risk management platform, which leverages machine learning, computer vision and geospatial data to deliver data, analysis and insights on commercial and residential properties throughout the United States.

About DroneBase

DroneBase is the largest global drone operations company, which provides businesses with stunning aerial information to make better, real-time decisions about their most critical assets from the world’s largest Pilot Network. Based in Los Angeles, the company is the trusted, go-to platform for aerial images and data for worldwide enterprise commercial clients across multiple industries such as residential and commercial real estate, insurance, telecommunications, construction, and media. DroneBase has completed over 100,000 commercial missions flown in over 70 countries and in all 50 states. The company was incubated by Y Combinator and has raised funding from FLIR Systems, Union Square Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Hearst Ventures, Pritzker Group, Accel Partners, SV Angel and DJI.

About Betterview

Betterview provides property insight and workflow tools for Insurance companies to improve the customer experience by accelerating decisions and improving risk at every point of the life cycle. For more information about Betterview, visit: https://www.betterview.net

The shorter a drone's propellers, the less efficient they are at keeping it airborne. That factor, along with compact, low-capacity batteries, is the reason that small drones can't fly for very long. A new two-prop drone, however, is claimed to deliver twice the flight time as similar-sized quadcopters.

The prototype is being developed by Swiss startup Flybotix, which was spun off of Switzerland's EPFL research institute. Its founder, Samir Bouabdallah, also developed drones at ETH Zurich.

Measuring about 30 cm wide (12 inches), the ring-shaped drone has two counter-rotating horizontal propellers stacked one above the other within its foam body. Because those props are longer than those that would be used in a same-size quadcopter, they provide more lift. Additionally, because the battery is only powering two motors instead of four, it doesn't run out as quickly.

Specially-developed algorithms are used to stabilize and control the drone, by monitoring and adjusting the rotational speed and tilt of the propellers. This setup is similar in purpose to the transmission system that helicopters use to control their pitch, although it's claimed to be much simpler and lighter, and reportedly makes the drone as easy to operate as a regular quadcopter.

And in the event that pilots do accidentally bump the aircraft into things, its foam body should cause it to harmlessly bounce off. With that in mind, one of its main planned applications is the inspection of hard-to-reach areas within industrial facilities. The prototype can be seen in action, in the video below.

Flybotix hopes to have a commercial product out soon, initially in the Chinese market. It may ultimately face some competition from another ring-shaped dual-prop drone, made by Canada's Cleo Robotics.

When Colin Rayner got a drone for his farm, he was initially just pleased that it could help him catch trespassers.

As his 700 acres of land is spread out over several different sites in the south east of England, there was little he could do about them cutting holes in his fences and driving motorbikes on his fields.

Yet now he says he "can use the drone to photograph the motorcyclists, get headshots and pass [the] info onto the police."

However, the drone's primary purpose is for analyzing his crops. Rayner's neighbor William Abbots flies the unmanned aerial vehicle over the farmer's fields taking photos from the sky.

These are then sent to his computer or phone where an app called Drone Deploy  shows the health of his crops. High contrast, colorized pictures highlight problem areas.

 Colyn Rayne in front of a field

Farmer Colin Rayner is benefits from using drones

Rather than having to walk the fields to identify diseases, pests, fungus and weeds, Rayner can pick them out using his drone images and then target the areas he feels need to be sprayed.

"We identify diseases and pests and fungus and weeds in the crop at an earlier stage," Rayner told DW, adding that he could therefore use fewer chemicals, because he was seeing the problem a couple of weeks earlier.

Using less pesticide, insecticide and herbicide is good for Rayner's wallet, but is also better for the soil and for pollinators and other insects.

According to a 2018 report by the Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), farming is now the "most significant source of water pollution" in the UK – and pesticides are a large part of the problem.

'Precision farming' in the UK

But drones can do more than take photos and provide data. In Asia and some countries in Europe, they tend to the fields.

Agricultural spaying drones are equipped with a tank and spraying system. They can then be set on a predetermined GPS-defined route and buzz over a field, dropping doses of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides as they go.

Jack Wrangham, a co-founder of the British agricultural drone company Drone AG, says this will help farmers create healthier crops - in other words, more food.

Wrangham says, "drone sprayers don't touch the ground so there will be less soil compaction."

This is when heavy machinery like tractors roll over the soil, pressing it down and damaging it. Farmers can fix this with plowing, but Wrangham says "this can be harmful to the soil over a long period of time."

Another supposed benefit is they let farmers grow where they haven't been able to before.

"In China, they're very popular, because they can access areas that are difficult for larger tractors to access, like steep slopes, rice crops, things like that," Wrangham told DW.

Last year alone the Chinese company DJI sold 20,000 spraying drones to domestic farmers, and about 2,000 in Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, they're also being used in countries like Switzerland and El Salvador.

 A combine harvester works its way through a field 

The use of drones in the field could soon become normal to spray pesticides onto fields

One place they're not allowed for commercial use, however, is the UK.  Trials are permitted but an average farmer like Colin Rayner can't deploy them. 

Once he has identified his problem areas, he or one of his employees uses a tractor to spray chemicals over the affected part of the field.

Were he able to use a drone, Wrangham's company contends it would save him hours of labor.

In an article on their website, Drone AG claim that spraying drones means that "a job that previously took many hours now only takes a few minutes."

Yet Wrangham believes drones will be more than just a time saver. They'll let farmers grow the food we need while slashing the amount of pesticides.

He says, "we need pesticides, in order to produce the amounts of food we need now, let alone where the world population is going… but we don't need to put them everywhere."

Indeed, the UN predicts the number of people on the planet  will rise to 10 billion by 2050.

Threat to life

As the moment, British drone laws are getting stricter. In large part after reported sightings of a drone in the  London-Gatwick airspace last December led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

The government has since responded by making it illegal to fly a drone above 400 feet, or within 5 kilometers of an airport.

This will affect farmers who live near airports. Colin Rayner, for one, can't use unmanned aerial vehicles on some parts of his farm as a few of his fields are too close to Heathrow.

However, Tim Breitmeyer, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), a group that represents farmers and other rural businesses, says the regulations are "necessary."

"We've already seen irresponsible use of them at Gatwick to cause chaos. It doesn't take very much to take down a low flying helicopter," he told DW.  

According to the UK Airprox Board there were well over 100 near misses between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aircraft in the United Kingdom last year — making 2018 the worst year on record. 

Meanwhile, after inviting a couple of students to experiment with an UAV on his land not far from London, Breitmeyer says he's seen first-hand how drones can terrify animals.

"One of the things we've found is they're not good with animals, they spook horses because of the noise," Breitmeyer said. He added, "there's a public safety point of view there… as the drone operator won't necessarily see the person riding through the countryside."

Ethical issues

There are wider ethical concerns about agricultural drones too. David Rose, a Geography lecturer at the University of East Anglia, says they could impinge on people's privacy.

"If your house happens to be on the edge of a field, and the farm is regularly putting a drone up capturing live images of your back garden, or your home — you might be thinking well actually I don't want to be under surveillance all the time," Rose said.

He doesn't see a need to make farming more efficient.

"Often, we get obsessed with [food] production," he said, "when in fact we could just do other things, like waste less, distribute food more equally, solve inequality, which means we wouldn't have to produce more food to feed a growing population."

Where next for farming drones in the UK?

Some like Jack Wrangham and Colin Rayner believe these flying farmhands are the future of British farming.

So too do the professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, who estimate that commercial drones will add £42 billion (48 billion euros; $53 billion) to the British GDP by 2030 — and agriculture will be one of the main beneficiaries.

But they're also expensive. Breitmeyer says the fact that an unmanned aerial vehicle and the software system can cost thousands of pounds prevents them from becoming more popular.

"There's an innate distrust in whether the technology is worth it at the moment," he said. Getting a drone and a license can costs thousands of pounds, so "for many farmers… there is a cost bearer at the moment."

Although he could afford one, he's not convinced that technology is good enough.

So, whether it's down to laws, attitudes or costs — it's clear that in Britain at least, farming drones haven't quite managed to take off.

The second annual Drone Awards, hosted by the Art Photo Travel association, has announced the winners and finalists for their 2019 aerial photography contest. Over 4,500 submissions were received from 107 countries for seven categories including Wildlife, Urban, Abstract, and Nature.

The honor of "Drone Awards Photographer of the Year" 2019 was given to Polish photographer Jacek Deneka. He captured a top-down image of cross-country skiers racing in the main competition of the Bieg Piastow Skiing Festival in Jakuszyce, Poland.

Entries were judged by a group of internationally recognized photography professionals. Each image was submitted anonymously to the jury to prevent any bias. Prizes were awarded in seven categories to 44 photographers from 34 countries including Austria, Australia, China, France, Spain, the United States, and Vietnam.

The winning photographers in the seven categories are:

Abstract: Marc Le Cornu, United States

Nature: Jeremiasz Gadek, Poland

People: Khanh Phan, Vietnam

Sport: JoSon Lee, United States

Wildlife: Florian Ledoux, France

Urban: George Steinmetz, United States

Video: Alex Chacon, United States

The full gallery of winning, highly commended, and commended images can be viewed here: https://droneawards.photo/gallery2019/

Winning images will be on display at the 'Sky's the Limit' exhibition held in Siena, throughout November, during the 'Siena Awards' Photo Festival.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone technology is becoming more and more valuable in geologic investigations since it enables safe study of difficult-to-access or hazardous spots and tasks such as risk assessment at mines and quarries.

A recent study demonstrated drone aerial photography as a quick, low cost, and safe means to study poorly accessible open-pit mining and to help understand the geology of the lower Mississippi River Valley.

The study was carried out by members of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis in collaboration with Memphis Stone and Gravel Co. in order to assess the utility of drone photography to map the three-dimensional geology exposed in the quarry pit to better understand its environment of deposition and to provide information that may help in the future exploration of the sand and gravel deposit regionally. Specifically, this research was conducted using aerial drone photography in the pit of an active quarry, mined by Memphis Stone and Gravel Company in Southaven, Mississippi, which is being mined in the Pliocene UC deposit. The Upland Complex is a high-level Pliocene terrace of the Mississippi River and is important economically being the primary source of sand and gravel for Memphis, Tennessee and the surrounding region.

The pit dimensions were approximately 820 ft (250 m) by 655 ft (200 m) and 79-ft (24 m) deep upon completion of the mining.

Eight 3-D models of the pit were made at different times to illustrate the mining progression. Oblique and horizontal stereo aerial photography of the high walls was conducted to produce 3-D models and high-resolution photomosaics of the high walls for geologic mapping and interpretation.

In quarries high walls are especially hazardous due to possible collapse and falling rocks. Because physical access to quarry high walls is a safety concern, physical sampling of the high wall sediment is often not permitted by quarry management.

 Materials and Methods

Drones and other forms of UAVs allow for high-definition aerial photography and are useful for imaging inaccessible or hazardous areas such as +100-ft (+30.5 m) high quarry walls (high walls). The team conducted a total of eight drone photography surveys between May 2017 and May 2018 as the sand and gravel pit was actively being mined. To obtain the best consistent light conditions for mapping and also to minimize shadow effects for the interior high walls, all the flights we carried out between 11:00 and 13:00, with a clear or fully overcast sky, minimal high wall shadow, and minimal wind.

In this study geometric-mathematical reconstructions of individual points were used to reconstruct the photographs in a three-dimensional (3-D) space.

Flight plan of drone for mapping using 3-D Survey. The blue points indicate individual photographs used to create a point cloud of the pit. Ground control survey points are shown in green.

Drones are a cost effective and rapid method for safely photographing large areas that allow for pre-flight elevation and flight path programming. Many areas of the pit were unapproachable because of water in the pit and the potentially unstable near-vertical high walls. The drone allowed access to areas that would not allow a fixed-wing aircraft because of right-angle bends in the highwall. Drone technology permitted various photograph look directions, which allowed researchers to photograph the near-vertical high wall faces. The drone photography also allowed for quick and accurate creation of digital surface models, orthophotos, high wall photomosaics, and 3-D models from the imagery.

This research used a Phantom 4 Pro drone equipped with a 1-inch 20-megapixel CMOS sensor with a field of view of 84° or 8.8 mm. The Phantom model has a maximum flight time of 30 min and can be either controlled manually or operated fully autonomously using a predefined Global Positional System (GPS) path. The camera was mounted on the base of the drone and could be oriented to photograph in any direction. Vertical, oblique, and horizontally oriented photographs were taken at different distances from the high wall to determine good flight distances and look directions for geologic analysis.

Rotated views of quarry pit using 3D Survey software.

All the drone flights were conducted by 901Drones of Memphis, Tennessee. Ten permanent ground control points (GCP) were placed around the exterior and the interior of the pit, with coordinates surveyed using a GNSS receiver (model: Trimble R8s) with a static maximum precision of 8 mm and 15 mm for horizontal and vertical accuracy, respectively. GCPs were used to provide topographic control of the 3-D models and to calculate photogrammetric accuracy.

For vertical 3-D mapping of the pit, the drone was flown at 200 ft (61 m) above the quarry floor with the camera pointed directly down, and the drone was launched and controlled from within the pit. Approximately 350 images were required to cover the entire pit area and to capture the GCPs on the pit’s perimeter.

Map view of 3-D model of the quarry pit using 3D Survey software. The numbered yellow lines are the highwalls that were geologically interpreted. The short colored lines that cross the exterior highwalls mark the ends of the highwall with the same colored number. The short bold red line that bisects highwalls 1 and 4 is the location of the fault in Figure 8 and Figure 11.

For analysis of the high walls, two photography perspectives were employed. Drone photography was taken at 90° (horizontal) angles within 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 m) of the high walls and obliquely at 45° at 20 ft (6.1 m) above the high wall top. All the photos had a minimum of 60% overlap for subsequent 3-D modelling and stereographic viewing to ensure that every part of the area was covered in a minimum of three overlapping images.

Two software packages were used to process the drone photography in this study: 3D Survey (https://www.3dsurvey.si) and Agisoft Photoscan Professional (https://www.agisoft.com).

Conclusions

Drone aerial photography provides a highly effective imaging system for open-pit mining and research of the exposed geology. Aerial drone mapping of the Mississippi River’s Pliocene UC terrace in the Memphis Stone and Gravel active sand and gravel quarry has shown its utility in (1) recording mining progress, (2) identifying and quantifying sedimentary facies geometry, (3) estimating Pliocene Mississippi River paleocurrent directions using cross-bed apparent dip directions, (4) identifying geologic structures, including faults, fractures, folds, and liquefaction, and (5) preserving a digital stereoscopic record of the ancient Mississippi River alluvium that is removed in the mining process.

The high walls also revealed northerly-striking late Pliocene or Pleistocene tectonic folding, faulting, and probable earthquake liquefaction in north-western Mississippi, where no Pliocene or Quaternary tectonic deformation had previously been reported.

Thus, this study identified northerly-striking late Pliocene or Pleistocene faulting that had not been previously documented in DeSoto County, Mississippi. Based on the relationship between fault displacement and earthquake magnitude, an 8-ft (2.4 m) fault displacement could produce a moment magnitude 7.3 earthquakes.

Drones could soon be ferrying commuters around New Zealand skies and performing a bigger range of tasks too dangerous for humans.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were potentially worth $7.9 billion to the country's economy, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said as drones went on show in Auckland on Wednesday.

Managing the industry's growth and generating export dollars were discussed as Twyford and UAV innovators unveiled the Government's drone plan.

Linda Bulk and Rob Brouwer​ from Raglan-based industrial drone designers Aeronavics said they welcomed the Government's "Taking Flight" plan, and the current environment needed changes.

Brouwer said it was "completely outrageous" that some cheap consumer imports were not properly regulated, and marketed to consumers as having a 7km range.

Drones on show at Victoria Park included the octorotor Drone Sprayer, used for roof cleaning, liquid fertiliser drops and aerial mapping.

"They should be geo-fenced to within a couple of hundred metres from the controller."

Bulk told Stuff her company and other local innovators were getting some financial support from the Government through research and development grants and working with Callaghan Innovation.

But she said public agencies sometimes seemed "risk averse" when it came to supporting home-grown drone innovators.

Phil Twyford and Trent Fulcher at the drone event at Auckland's Victoria Park.

Trent Fulcher, from Airways subsidiary Airshare, said Kiwis should plan about how to manage "drones doing more advanced things, like carrying humans".

Twyford said New Zealand's forestry, farming and conservation sectors already used drones and the country could be a world leader in the technology.

Asked about rogue UAVs pestering aircraft, Twyford would not say if he favoured shooting problematic drones out of the sky, but said misuse should be penalised.

Twyford said it would "take some time" to get regulations right and the ministry was currently in talks about potential powers for law enforcement to detain drones.

Richard Cross from the Ministry of Transport said some parts of New Zealand were already considered "drone friendly" but there might be scope to discuss more areas reserved for the exclusive use of UAVs.

Cross said the ministry wanted to engage with the public and private sectors to work out "concrete proposals" for managing the drone industry's future.

Among the drones on display was the octorotor​ "Drone Sprayer" from Mt Wellington company Agricultural Drone Services Ltd.

The machine's blades and eight arms, or spars, were made of carbon fibre.

The Florida-designed machine could carry 20 litres and perform jobs such as safely cleaning roofs.

​The Taking Flight plan said drones would be likely to carry out expensive and dangerous jobs such as power line inspection and work for the emergency services.

Farmers could use drones to manage stock and crops, and UAVs could improve rural freight delivery, the new plan added.

The Government said Taking Flight aimed to ensure the drone sector thrived, was innovative and was safe.

"Our objective is to safely integrate drones into the NZ aviation system and ultimately into an integrated system," the plan added. 

Watching a spectacular drone light show under a full moon at the Kennedy Space Center, while listening to a hauntingly beautiful orchestral performance led by Duran Duran, synced with video of the moon landing… Maybe it’s the perfect way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 achievement.

The Amsterdam design firm Studio Drift launched the special edition of their spectacle—called Franchise Freedom—at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday night.

The dynamic aerial sculpture features 300 glowing, autonomous Intel Shooting Star Drones. The unchoreographed display was accomplished thanks to finely-tuned algorithms. Each drone acts and reacts in real-time to its network.

The result is a spellbinding replica of starlings in slow-moving flight.

In front of a big-screen showing video highlights of the Apollo rocket lift-off and moon landing filmed a half century ago, Duran Duran, the British New Wave band best known for their hit single “Hungry Like the Wolf” performed an aptly-named composition “The Universe Alone,” backed by a string ensemble and choir.

The orchestral arrangements soared as high as the drones, making for an unforgettable evening.

“I was completely enchanted by what they had created. I’d never seen technology like this be used in such an emotional way,” says band founder and keyboardist Nick Rhodes.