Drone News & Articles

Envision a frog riding a drone holding a camera in its front foot while flying through the air.

This is the image Rio Rancho business owner Dan Sellers wants potential clients to think of when they need his services.

Sellers, mastermind and owner of Aerial Frog, one of three drone videography and 3D imaging companies in the state, said he wants his business to stand out, hence the aforementioned logo.

“I got into videography when I started flying RC (remote control) planes eight years ago,” he said. “I noticed the drone age beginning to creep in at the air field in the form of racing drones.”

Sellers said he tried his hand at racing drones but never really got the feel for them. Instead, he said he liked the fact that he could strap a camera to the drone and capture images from the sky.

“I picked up a consumer-grade aerial photography drone five years ago before the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) became involved and there weren’t any rules on where you could and couldn’t fly,” he said. “I flew my drone everywhere around New Mexico, the coast of California, everywhere I could to get great images.”

Sellers said he started a YouTube channel featuring many of the videos he captured around the country.

“Soon, the FAA said if you were making money with your drones, then you had to become a certified pilot,” he said. “Since I had a YouTube channel that made money, I went to get my license.”

Then, Sellers said, he moved back to New Mexico from California, a move that gave him the opportunity to start something new.

“I wanted to try my hand at doing professional drone photography and make a living out of it,” he said. “So I opened Aerial Frog, but soon I realized it was going to be hard to make a living out of just doing drone photography.”

Sellers said while he was prepping his business, he was also advertising, which brought no phone calls.

“It was hard because I was investing into a new business, doing this and going here, and meanwhile, no phone calls,” he said.

Sellers said after researching what real estate agents want, he came up with a plan to offer 3D images so potential clients could see the dimensions of a house for sale online.

“I invested a substantial amount of money into a 3D camera,” Sellers said. “It’s called a Matterport and it creates a three-dimensional walk-through of a home.”

After acquiring the equipment, Sellers said he used his own home for practice.

“I can’t tell you how many pictures I took of my own dining room before I finally got it right,” he said with a smile.

Since offering this imagery and drone video, Sellers’ business is on an upswing.

“I have steady work with several Realtors and agencies that really like what I have to offer,” he said.

In business since March, Sellers said he has a full plate of upcoming projects.

“Basic photography comes in at eight cents a square foot,” he said. “So if someone called me on a 1,800-square-foot house, you’re looking at $160. That includes 45 pictures and most of those are HDR (high dynamic range) photos.”

After an initial in-person meeting, Sellers uses a program called DocuSign for other projects for the same client.

“After I do a couple of properties for a client, all I do is a phone call, and this makes doing business so much easier,” he said.

Sellers allows clients a couple of days to review his images in case they want a different angle or a new shoot altogether.

“This type of imagery is becoming the industry standard for real estate agencies because it cuts down on ‘looky-loos,’” he said. “If a potential buyer can see the exact layout of a house online, if they call the agent, that means they are serious.”

Sellers also offers floor plans for homes that were built a long time ago and don’t have original plans.

“My 3D camera offers this to potential buyers and home owners to be printed or used online, plus my 3D images can be used on any social media platform for advertising,” he said.

Tags: Small Business, Drone Photography

The 15-year-old beat over 127 other competitors of all ages from across the world to clinch the title as the four-day championship came to a close on Sunday.

Event organisers the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), also known as the World Air Sports Federation, said Browning will take home a US$24,000 ($33,350) winner's cheque, along with his gold medal.

Browning took out the final in front of more than 10,000 drone-mad fans at the Shenzhen Universiade Centre Stadium, according to Chinese state media agency Xinhua.

"I dreamed of this, and it is incredible that it has come true. I couldn't be happier," Browning said after his victory.

"I'm still shaking actually."

Australia also took out the team title, beating Sweden and South Korea who received silver and bronze medals respectively.

"I'm very proud of the boys," Australia's team manager David Crepaldi said.

Wanraya Wannapong, an 11-year-old racer from Thailand, took out the top women's prize at the event, competing against 13 other women.

"I loved this track a lot. I liked flying it at night, it was a lot of fun," she said after her win.

Susanne Schodel, secretary general of the FAI, said the championship was a resounding success and showcased the best that drone racing has to offer.

Drones have become extremely popular worldwide, with estimates that in Australia alone there are up to 150,000.

In a drone race, four pilots weave through gates and past obstacles.

Each pilot wears a pair of video goggles that are linked to the camera on board their drone, giving them a first-person view.

In this year's competition, pilots had to navigate a stunning 650-metre course designed in the shape of a Chinese knot.

At night, the course was lit up with 7,000 metres of LED lights, creating an exciting course to match the futuristic sport.

Shenzhen, the host of this year's championships, is home to drone super power DJI, which commands over 70 per cent of the worldwide drone market, according to drone industry research specialists Skylogic Research.

Alongside the racing, some pilots also attempted to crack the world record for speed over 100 metres.

Beating out 62 other pilots, Switzerland's Timothy Trowbridge hit an average speed of 114.2382 kilometres per hour to claim the record and the accompanying $US3,000 ($4,170) prize.

Tags: Drone Racing, Events

PrecisionHawk’s acquisition of Uplift Data Partners, its fifth in nine months, highlights the emerging consolidation of the drone industry as companies seek to build scale in a rapidly evolving market.

Uplift specializes in the delivery of turnkey inspection services for construction, building information management and real-estate. It has provided drone services for leading companies, including Amazon, Apple, Macy’s, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General, and others. Uplift’s network of commercially trained drone pilots will join PrecisionHawk’s Droners.io’s network of more than 15,000 drone pilots, one of the largest in the industry.

The Uplift acquisition, announced Monday, comes less than a week after France’s Delair purchased key portions of Airware, including construction and mining specialist Redbird. Delair gained a proven software solution, an engineering team in Paris and an installed base of customers and dealers worldwide. It also gained a stronger position in construction and surveying.

PrecisionHawk and Delair are two of the largest commercial drone companies, and both are pursuing strategies that involve organic and acquisitive growth.

“There will be a few large market leaders,” Michael Chasen, PrecisionHawk CEO. In building market leadership, acquisitions are a critical element. Companies need to move quickly as the market evolves to build the scale them need. They need to take advantage of opportunities emerging opportunities that will enable them to provide a broader range of technologies and services to meet the needs of clients. For PrecisionHawk that means building a full solution provider that can support other companies’ hardware, develop and provide software, training pilots for other companies and provide inspection services.

As a co-founder and chief executive officer of Blackboard.com, Chasen has considerable experience in making acquisitions. He purchased some 30 companies before selling the business for $1.8 billion to private equity.

Scale is key,” stresses Benjamin Benharrosh, co-founder of Delair. “You need size to have a worldwide footprint.” Size is critical to provide research and development to stay at the forefront of technological development. It is also crucial to provide the full service that large companies need, he said. Delair’s vision of scale is slightly different with the company developing and manufacturing unmanned systems hardware and software. However, the company leaves its hardware to other companies to operate.

The market is at a stage where companies are beginning to realize that they need to get larger to develop further, according to Chasen and Benharrosh. For some companies that means selling to larger companies that will get them closer to the goals, they are seeking to reach. "A lot of companies have built up good markets and recognize the need to get to the next level,” Benharrosh said. As this realization has built up, some valuations of potential acquisitions have become much more reasonable.

PrecisionHawk and Delair attribute part of their success to being early movers in the field. PrecisionHawk and Delair were founded in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The companies have 150 and 180 employees respectively, making them two of the largest, if not the largest startups in commercial UAS. PrecisionHawk recently laid off some employees, but that stemmed from overlaps created by recent acquisitions. Neither company reveals financial results.

Both companies have a prestigious list of clients. Both have branched out from agriculture, a particularly tricky market segment, into more rapidly growing areas such as construction and energy. Both see more rapidly growing market opportunities in the United States than in Europe with liberalization by the Federal Aviation Administration of rules for flying drones commercially in 2016. That led Delair to open an office in San Francisco.

Both companies by developing hardware and moved into software. Since then they have diverged somewhat. PrecisionHawk got out of the manufacture of drones and instead relies on using DJI Innovations and Harris drones. Delair continues to develop and produce fixed-wing drones, which are not widely used by consumers and so better resist commoditization than multi-rotors.

The two companies are also diverging on the type of scale they see as critical to thrive in the industry and whether hardware and inspection services need to be part of that larger enterprise.

The extent to which they focus on international sales also differs. Delair derives three-quarters of its sales from outside the United States, with China, as well as the United States, offering rapidly growing opportunities. Airware does international work but finds the rapid growth and acceptance of new technology in the United States means it focuses heavily on the home market for now.

PrecisionHawk, which is the fourth-best-funded drone startup in the world with $104 million in investments, has made a series of acquisitions in 2018 to build its breath in offering services and depth to provide capabilities in a broader range of market niches. In February 2018, it purchased two professional drone operators networks—Droners.io and AirVid to support the delivery of on-demand, drone-based imagery to large clients. In September 2018, it followed those acquisitions with the purchase of Hazon, Inc. and InspecTools Inc. Hazon is a leader in providing drone flight operations and inspection services to the energy industry. InspecTools develops high-fidelity machine vision software and data analysis tools built for solar panel and wind turbine inspection.

Delair has focused more on organic growth than acquisitions, but still purchased Belgium-based Gatewing, an unmanned aerial systems manufacturer based in Belgium, from Trimble in 2016. That acquisition gave the company a strong foothold in the construction and surveying market, its leading market segment now. Delair current work includes fixed-wing drones, cloud-based data processing and analysis, local customer support and custom consulting services.

Delair is focusing on integrating Redbird, but it is open to opportunistic acquisitions, said Benharrosh. It is seeking to build up its work in areas such as utilities, oil and gas, and agriculture.

PrecisionHawk continues to be acquisitive, with a particular interest in companies that will further its strength in energy, construction and agriculture, according to Chassen.

Tags: PrecisionHawk, Drone Industry

THE DESERT STAR

DEBRA & RICHARD HOVEL

ARCHITECT: HOWARD LAPHAM

“We love nothing more than being together, launching crazy projects, and making our dreams come true,” says Debra Hovel, one half of the highly creative power couple that lives in and manages this Class 1 Historic property completed by a local designer and developer in 1956. Howard Lapham built the Desert Star as a vacation rental, and the six poolside units adjacent to the Hovels’ home still function as such.

Before relocating full time in 2010 to Palm Springs from Minnesota, the Hovels built a successful retail and trend-research design company. These self-described soulmates are makers (Debra handcrafts shoes, and Richard is a multimedia artist), collaborators (they present together as part of the “think and drink” Mod With a Twist events during Modernism Week), and the ultimate dinner–party hosts.

“We entertain friends and ‘chosen family’ weekly, as we strive to invite as many people into our home as possible,” Debra says. “We feel it is a privilege to live in this very special place, and it makes us happy to share it.”

Guests often ask them what it’s like to “live in a fishbowl” surrounded by glass walls. “We laugh and tell them we love the whole concept of outside-inside living,” Debra says. The Hovels also appreciate the modular design of the home’s spaces. They regularly move art around, eliminate excess to reduce stress, and live by phrases that include: form follows function, less is more, and simple is good.

“There are no extra, unused rooms. No waste,” Debra notes. “The home seems human-scaled and completely appropriate. It is a good and true reflection of our lives.”

THE HIDDEN FREY

GRETA & BRIAN HEADMAN

ARCHITECT: ALBERT FREY

An active lifestyle takes on new meaning when your vacation home has a tennis court. Yet Greta and Brian had plenty of interests before purchasing their sporty pad this summer. Greta is an avid yogi and trained yoga instructor; sailor Brian keeps a racing sloop in Marina Del Rey. These foodies are also spoiled by Greta’s cooking, care of ingredients from their Topanga Canyon home garden. “We both work full time, but we travel as much as possible to keep a balance,” Brian says. “We recently returned from a whirlwind week in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the Fringe Festival and saw more than 35 theater, dance, and comedy performances in eight days.”

Now, to hit the court. “Greta grew up playing, and I have played for years, though she is admittedly the better player — for now,” Brian smiles. “A bit of friendly household competition is healthy.”

An excuse to dust off their rackets wasn’t the only attraction to the home constructed in 1966 for W.I. Hollingsworth, a prominent L.A. developer. Referred to in architectural texts as the Hollingsworth Tennis Estate, it was restored by Thomboy Properties and unveiled during Modernism Week 2018.

“As the story is told, Hollingsworth was an avid tennis player but hated waiting for court time at the Palm Springs Racquet Club, so he bought an adjoining lot to build his own private tennis estate,” Brian explains. “Charlie Farrell, the club’s owner, caught wind of the plan and objected to City Hall, claiming the tennis court and its chain-link fence would be unsightly next to his club. Ever resolute, Hollingsworth excavated the entire lot and hired architect Albert Frey to design the house, pool, and tennis court below street level, entirely hidden from view. Frey was also designing the Schiff Residence at the Racquet Club, so there was a bit of one-upmanship at play.”

Brian says they like to imagine all the glamorous people who may have played tennis and enjoyed poolside cocktails here during the Racquet Club’s heyday. Believing their home is meant to be shared, the couple has made it available to rent when they are off sailing or seeing the world.

VILLA SIERRA

BLAKE & SEAN ROGERS

ARCHITECT: UNKNOWN

When Blake and Sean Rogers aren’t powering down in Palm Springs, they’re running on full batteries in L.A. The two are passionately involved in the music industry by way of the famous EastWest recording studio in Hollywood and also own a software company.

By the time they escape to the desert, they’ve earned every bit of pool, privacy, views, and lifestyle — their reasons for choosing the home. “This house offers relaxation that is really hard to find anywhere else in Southern California,” Sean says. “You can shut off the outside world and just enjoy a private escape. And if you want it, you are close enough to the restaurants, nightlife, and shopping.”

When the temps are reasonable, the pair spend most of their time outside, whether taking an early morning swim, lounging in the cabana with their favorite drinks from Koffi, sitting by the fire at night sipping a bold red wine, or watching a movie in the outdoor theater. They even tied the knot on-site.

“We always knew we wanted to get married in Palm Springs. But after an exhaustive search for a wedding venue, we couldn’t find a place we liked more than our very own house!” Sean laughs. “It’s large enough to have our whole family visit at the same time without ever feeling crowded. While some are having drinks and playing pool at the indoor bar, others can be cooking a big meal together in the chef’s kitchen.”

Though the gentlemen don’t know who built it, the home has virally become one of the most well-known examples of midcentury chic in town.

“Our front door is big and pink and became a social media star on Instagram a few years ago, which is a bit crazy,” Sean says. The house is also a vacation rental for those who need an up-close experience. “We love 

that people love it, but we do ask that they respect our privacy and the privacy of our guests and neighbors.”

LEONARD-HAMMA RESIDENCE

MARK LEONARD & KEN HAMMA

ARCHITECT: LANCE O’DONNELL

Buying land and building your retirement home on it has distinct advantages. Mark Leonard and Ken Hamma signed off on everything they love about their place, right down to the angled edge of the pool. “In the summer months, the pool and spa are in frequent use, either as a quick way to cool off or as a good place to nap,” Leonard notes.

He and Hamma moved to Palm Springs full time in 2017 after retiring from careers in the museum world of Los Angeles. Leonard was the head of the Paintings Conservation Department at the Getty Museum, and Hamma, who trained originally as a classical archaeologist, retired from the Getty Trust as executive director of digital policy and initiatives, then spent 10 years in independent consulting.

After Leonard was invited to consult on a conservation project at the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2014, he and Hamma returned home as landowners. The couple was happy to let local architect Lance O’Donnell lead the design and build, with construction completed in late 2017.

“Lance not only created a house that resonates with the environment and exploits the location and spectacular views, but a home that provides constant visual stimulation and comfort,” Leonard says. “The thoughtful overall design and architectural details throughout the home echo Palm Springs’ rich architectural history.” O’Donnell even factored into his design a light-filled artist studio where Leonard paints daily.

“The house turns its concrete-block back to the street and shelters the interior courtyard and pool, where all rooms have walls of glass,” Leonard says. “This allows us to move, both physically and visually, between the indoor and outdoor areas throughout the day and night.”

SCHNABEL FAMILY RETREAT

KATHRYN & KORT SCHNABEL

ARCHITECT: SEAN LOCKYER

Growing up at his grandparents’ vacation house in Cape Cod, Kort Schnabel envisioned one day having a place where his own family could make long-lasting memories. “Multiple generations of family always gathered there. There was a wealth of different activities to engage in together, and life lessons were shared among all,” Kort recalls. Those East Coast summers inspired the Schnabels’ Little Tuscany compound where Kort, wife Kathryn, and kids Erin (13), Michael (11), and Daniel (7) spend weekends and holidays, with their yellow Labrador, Gus, in tow.

“He absolutely loves the pool and would live in Palm Springs full time if he could,” Kort shares. “We invite our guests to bring their dogs as well.” Family and friends are part of the home’s fabric. It was designed for entertaining, now and for generations to come. Rare is the afternoon when the six Schnabels have the place to themselves.

“The kids really use all of the property,” Kort notes. “They typically end up off in the boulders, playing all sorts of creative games and finding various hiding spots, while the adults sit by the pool or relax in the living room.”

It’s no surprise the active family, who plays sports, loves being outdoors, and travels often, chose this site to build their home away from Los Angeles, where Kort works at a private equity firm.

“From the moment we stumbled on these two adjacent lots, we couldn’t stop talking about them,” Kort says. “The vision began taking shape, and it was impossible to turn it off.” Neighbor J.R. Roberts referred the couple to architect Sean Lockyer, and the match was immediate.

Lockyer also served as general and landscape designer of the project that integrates with nature, offering 360-degree views. Kort and Kathryn were highly involved in decision making and idea generation, although the form and aesthetic beauty were fully created and executed by Lockyer. Since the home’s completion in October 2015, the family has kept busy making those Cape Cod–style memories.

Tags: Aerial Photography, Architecture

Yamaha Motor Co. said Friday that it will launch its first drone for agricultural use in March 2019.

The company aims to sell 500 units of the YMR-08 in 2019 and 1,000 units in 2021 amid growing demand for labor savings when it comes to the spraying of pesticides, due to a decline in the number of farmers.

It aims to win a 50 percent share of the market for agricultural drones.

Yamaha Motor has managed operations involving small remote-controlled helicopters for agricultural use for 30 years.

Drones are more suitable than helicopters for use at small farms in cities and mountainous regions, according to the company.

The YMR-08, which can spray one hectare with agricultural chemicals during a 15-minute flight on a single charge, is priced at ¥2,754,000, the company said. A device to spray pesticides will be sold separately.

Yamaha Motor plans to hold seminars on how to use the drone at 25 sites nationwide.

Japanese firms lag behind some companies in China and other foreign countries in the development and sales of drones.

Katsu Nakamura, senior general manager of Yamaha Motor’s division for unmanned systems, said the company has taken awhile to launch an agricultural drone because it “took time to examine the benefits (of the product) without giving up (development) by the company itself.”

“We hold the lead in spraying devices,” Nakamura said, adding that he’s eager to recover from setbacks in the field.

Autonomous drone start-up Emesent, led by former employees of CSIRO’s Data61 technology division, has received $3.5 million in capital investments for its Hovermap system.

Hovermap is designed for automated data collection via drone in dangerous underground areas.

Last year, the team was responsible for the first fully autonomous beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) drone flight in an underground mine. This took place 600 metres below the surface in Western Australia.

Emesent co-founder and chief executive Stefan Hrabar said, “Hovermap enables the mining industry to safely inspect inaccessible areas of underground mines while improving the type and quality of data collected to unlock new insights.

“This includes comparing the stope design to the actual post-blast shape to detect over-break and under-break, identification of geotechnical structures and accurate post-blast volume reconciliations.”

The LiDAR-equipped Hovermap has already been deployed at operations in Australia, the United States, Canada, China and Japan in various capacities, and is currently being rolled out as part of a new program designed to target the underground mining sector.

CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said Emesent was a company that “hit the innovation sweet spot” by combining digital expertise with mining experience.

“This has been harnessed by the environment we have created at CSIRO where deep science combines with innovative ideas and agile minds to create game-changing technologies,” he said.

“CSIRO’s strength lies in our knowledge and experience of core markets like mining and agriculture and the channels we create, like our ON program, to deliver digital innovation which is transforming and creating new industries.”

Capital raising for Hovermap is led by CSIRO’s innovation fund Main Sequence Ventures.

Tags: Australian Drones, Mining Drones

Over & Above Africa, an LA-based charity, is dedicated to fighting the poaching battle on all fronts and have teamed up with Giant Films to direct and produce The Guardian. The aim of the project is to raise funds to supply drones to wildlife reserves.

The film was made by an international team of creatives led by Fackrell who is currently based in Amsterdam, with Coleman from Cape Town-based Giant Films taking the lead in the director’s chair.

The 90-second documentary was released earlier this month and points out that “all of Africa’s animal groups are threatened by poaching,” but explained that drone surveillance could increase their chances of survival by 80%.

Drones were used to shoot the short expressive docu-film and include aerial shots of animals along with their collective nouns – a dazzle of zebras, a wobble of ostriches, a pride of lions, and so forth. The footage then shows a “gang of poachers,” calling them a plague, and branding what they do as a slaughter.

Kerry David, Over & Above Africa’s founder, said it is indeed a slaughter, and added:

“Every day is a tech-war between heavily armed, well organised, skilled poachers and our courageous, but often ill-equipped rangers. Dropping our guard can mean the loss of whole herds.”

With the help of drone surveillance, Africa’s animals can be protected, and poachers can be brought to justice. Poaching is rampant through most of Africa and with the rhino population numbers dwindling, severe measures are needed to guard against extinction.

While the numbers are decreasing, approximately 1030 rhinos were killed during 2017 and elephant numbers dropped by 9%. It is without a doubt a scourge on the world and is systematically forcing many animals to the brink of extinction, all in the name of profit.

Animals are killed for their pelts and tusks, and when it comes to rhino poaching, poachers torture and kill these animals to get their horns. The horns are sold on the black market and ivory rakes in enormous profits. In some instances, it is even valued more than gold.

We reached out to the creative team for insight into the creation of the film and the impact and awareness they hope to generate with the Guardian project.

Understanding that this must have been a tiny budget, can you give some insight as to what role you played in bringing this film to life?

Sam Coleman: Projects for these kinds of causes of course tend to be on the low budget side and absolutely rely on the goodwill of others. The wellbeing and future of our animals’ hit’s a nerve with people and everybody clambered on board to help, from my DOP and often-time collaborator Devin Toselli, to my amazing post partners at Strangelove and Priest.

What kind of difference do you hope to make and how do you think this film will affect change?

SC: As long as it raises awareness, and ultimately donations to Over & Above African it’s doing it’s job. It’s ultimately a tech war between poachers and the rangers on the ground, so the more we can help the rangers the better equipped they will be to fight the war.

What do you feel the role of creative is in affecting positive change in the world?

SC: Ultimately, in todays divided world we are also seeing creativity becoming being more politically active and aware to fight all kinds of injustice which is a great thing. We shouldn’t, and don’t, exist in a vacuum for our own entertainment, there’s too much at stake.

What is the role as a creative when it comes to projects like these?

Andy Fackrell: I always try to find an emotional trigger that’s not expected. Collective nouns, something that romanticises animals provided that hook.

It was an ambitious idea that required everything be treated with great sensitivity; the edit, the music, the grade. It was important to present the poachers and dead elephants in a very matter of fact manner, not in a sensationalist way.

We have been informed that Over & Above Africa was shortlisted for the prestigious Ciclope Festival. The festival kicks off on 8 November in Berlin.

The marine mammals live at the base of the 100-metre-high Bunda Cliffs along the Great Australian Bight in South Australia.

Nullarbor travellers are none the wiser to their location with the Southern Ocean's huge swells and the crumbling cliffs protecting their existence.

But now SA Marine Parks staff have been able to fly drones down the cliff to get a true picture of just how many sea lions live there.

The project has logged sea lion pups in 25 colonies dotted along a 180 kilometre stretch of the coast.

PHOTO: State Marine Parks manager Dirk Holman says the drone is more effective than peering over the cliff. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton)

Marine Parks manager Dirk Holman said the pinnipeds were first discovered there in the 1990s and previous counts had been difficult because of the inaccessibility of the area and typography.

He said using drones to photograph and create 3D models of the cliff base had immediately revealed greater numbers than counted before and in the long term, would help identify population changes.

"We had about 385 per cent more pups that we saw, compared to previous survey, so that number did surprise me," Mr Holman said.

"This is not due to a population recovery but being able to visually access the entire colonies for the first time.

"We've been monitoring them on and off for I guess the last 20 years and I've been scratching my head for the last five or six years knowing that we could do it better.

"We've just been peering over the cliffs with binoculars trying to look at how many sea lions are at the base."

Drones sent 60m down

The drones are sent 60 metres down the cliff edge and thousands of high-resolution photographs are taken in quick succession.

PHOTO: The remote Bunda Cliffs are home to about 25 colonies of the endangered Australian sea lion. (Supplied: EP Natural Resources)

The images are stitched together using photogrammetry software to build 3D digital images of the terrain and colonies to allow accurate estimates of the population size based on pup numbers.

Global Unmanned Systems manager Rob Lednor said the terrain posed difficulties for the drone operators.

"The Bunda Cliffs reach a scale of approximately 100 metres and this rough, steep landscape is often battered by strong winds blowing in from the Southern Ocean," he said.

"Conditions are challenging for RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) operators and the equipment, especially in the context of conducting fauna surveys."

Dangerous clifftop viewing

Mr Holman said the drones were providing a safer and more accurate count than their previous method of peering over the cliff edge with a pair of binoculars.

"Even colonies where we know there's been animals there, I've only had counts of five or 10 [in the past] but with using the drones, we've counted up to 60 to 65 animals in a colony," he said.

"We always knew that the data we were getting just by peering over the edges using cameras and binoculars wasn't the complete picture but I was really surprised how many more animals we saw."

He said the drone project was a breakthrough in sea lion management and could help preserve the species.

PHOTO: Sea lions were hunted to near-extinction by commercial sealers during the 1800s. (Supplied: Tim Watters via Sea Shepherd)

"It's a tough existence for the sea lions to survive, let alone breed at the bottom of the cliffs," Mr Holman said.

The 3D models of the cliffs would allow parks management to study how the colonies are changing over time and how they fit with the population trends.

Hunted almost to extinction

It is believed that in the early 1800s the Australian sea lion, or Neophoca cinerea, was nearly hunted to extinction in some areas by commercial sealers, including around Bass Strait and off Albany in Western Australia.

Now the pinnipeds are only found in colonies from The Pages off South Australia to the Houtman Abrolhos in WA but the populations have not recovered from sealing and were listed internationally as endangered in 2008.

"Unfortunately they're not tracking too well," Mr Holman said.

"The latest state-wide population survey we did showed a 78 per cent decline over three generations, which is significant.

"There's been an overlap of fishing effort with the sea lions' foraging grounds so there's been an historical incidental bycatch of the animals.

"Unfortunately they only breed every 17 and a half months so they don't breed every year so when there are fatalities through bycatch, and if that's gone on for a period of time, then they're going to recover really slowly."

PHOTO: Drone technology has allowed greater access to offshore islands, providing real-time footage in the field. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton)

Population still declining

Department of Environment research lists fisheries bycatch as the primary threat, as well as demersal gillnet fishing for sharks, rock lobster pots, and entanglement in marine debris.

Among the secondary threats listed were marine fish aquaculture, including loss of habitat and entanglement as well as direct killing, disease, pollution, oil spills and noise, particularly from seismic surveys, construction, or marine operations.

"There has been a lot of work done to minimise the interactions between the fisheries and the animals so we're sort of hoping that pretty soon we'll see a response in the pup production," Mr Holman said.

"We mainly pups in a survey so the last survey state-wide, which we did 2014/2015, there were just over 2,200 pups.

"[That's] down from 2,900 pups between six or seven years earlier so you can see that the pup numbers are declining across the state."

PHOTO: The National Parks team works to manually count sea lions on Dangerous Reef near Port Lincoln. (Supplied: EP Natural Resources)

Natural Resources EP will be applying the drone technology to count sea lions at more accessible islands off Port Lincoln over the next four months.

"At the moment we're doing Dangerous Reef which is the biggest sea lion colony and some of the data we're getting from that is really spectacular," Mr Holman said.

He expects the technology will have other applications for conservation.

"I can see it being used for things like mapping revegetation projects [and] tracking rehabilitation," he said.

"So, anything where you're looking to measure change over time, you can get a really intricate and a really detailed set of data from using the drones."

Tags: Drone Tracking, Endangered Species, Aerial Photography

In the night sky near Interstate 75 in northern Oakland County, 60 drones moved with precision.

Their preprogrammed electric dance lit the early evening October darkness with a changing, blending palette of red, green and blue as they outlined many forms — a rotating cube, a tornado ripping a roof from a house, a pair of eyes gazing.

The 16-minute unmanned aircraft system show north of Detroit was not advertised, but it drew enough of a crowd of cars that drone operators felt compelled to shut the gate of the field managed by a Radio Control flying club known as the Holly Cloud Hoppers.

The shapes and maneuvers, accompanied by the swarm's hive-like buzz, were not designed to entertain on this night but rather to allow a Michigan company, Firefly Drone Shows, to try out new ideas, some of which may be used for an upcoming performance.

Ryan Sigmon, who owns Lake Orion-based Firefly with Kyle Dorosz, compared the LED light display to something seen on a computer screen.

"Just think of them as pixels. Every drone has a very specific place to be at a specific time,” he said.

But try not thinking of them as drones, Sigmon advised. Instead, think of how an artist would see them.

"Look at it like, I’ve got a bunch of dots in the sky, what can I do to it? That’s when the real magic starts to happen there," Sigmon said.

That magic is what is prompting interest in the kinds of drone shows Firefly and some other companies can create. Last month, Firefly produced a show for the 100th anniversary of the start of production at the Ford Rouge Plant. Drones were used to spell out "HAPPY B-DAY!" in the sky and even create vehicles, including an F-150 pickup, which appeared to drive over rocky terrain.

The kind of evening celebration that might have once been the exclusive domain of fireworks is expanding to include the increasing technological prowess of drones. Firefly, which got the necessary waivers to operate multiple drones at night from the Federal Aviation Administration just this year, demonstrated a piece of the potential market this summer when Sigmon and Dorosz got a call from a resort community in Arizona.

Extremely dry conditions had forced a cancellation of the community's Fourth of July fireworks show. With only a few days' notice, Sigmon, Dorosz and crew drove west and pulled off a drone show in between their other scheduled events.

“We were able to use drones to solve an actual problem that someone was having, which was super neat ... and just the fact that we were able to pull it off in four days was just the cherry on top,” said Dorosz.

Firefly did not provide specific price information, but Sigmon said pricing is "typically in line with a large firework display."

Firefly Drone Shows from Lake Orion uses multiple drones to swarm creating evening light shows. They are doing a test in Holly for an upcoming show on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press

Good enough for Lady Gaga

Drone shows have been used in a number of high-profile events in the last few years, including during the Super Bowl LI halftime show with Lady Gaga in 2017 and earlier this year for the Winter Olympics in South Korea. The Olympics performance featured more than 1,200 drones in a pretaped show that memorably created a snowboarder in action. 

Intel, which is considered a pioneer in drone entertainment; Firefly; and Great Lakes Drone Co., which is based in southwest Michigan, are considered the main operators in the lighted drone shows, but anyone hoping to develop similar nighttime shows in the U.S. could seek the necessary Federal Aviation Administration waivers.

The FAA said it has issued 38 waivers allowing operations of multiple drones by a single pilot, and more than 1,900 waivers allowing operations at night. The three companies have both types of waivers.

Firefly Drone Shows founder Kyle Dorosz prepares to launch 60 drones in a field near Holly on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 to test for a upcoming show.  (Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)

The need to issue waivers to allow such operations, however, might provide a false confidence in the safety of the technology, according to one expert, Ella Atkins, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Michigan.

"The fact that it’s a waiver means it's not an established process," Atkins said. "If you think about it, you're getting exceptions or waivers that really amounts to the FAA acknowledging that they don’t yet have a process to carefully evaluate the safety of every drone that asks them to operate so they instead review paperwork that is really light on the technical details."

Atkins has worked extensively with drones as a faculty adviser for Michigan's student drone team, helping to push for a netted test facility at the university and serving on a National Academies committee related to drone research, according to the university. She is also a private pilot.

Atkins said risks that a drone may fall from the sky remain, and those risks, in terms of equipment, software and operational practices "where the drone can be absolutely trusted to fly in a crowd” have not been carefully examined.

“We can go out and show that a drone is really impressive at following a prescribed path, which is what a lot of these light shows are doing. People have very meticulously created what they believe is an artistic pattern for the group of drones to follow, which is normally great ... but if something goes wrong, maybe it’s not so great," Atkins said.

Drone injury lawsuit

Something did go wrong for a Los Angeles woman on June 30.

Before a fireworks display at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Monika Nourmand was hit in the face by a drone operated by Great Lakes Drone Co. owner Matt Quinn, according to a lawsuit and her attorney, who noted that Nourmand did not know a drone show had been planned. 

Nourmand and her husband sued Quinn and his company, both of which have denied responsibility, according to a published report, as well as Caesars, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The collision led to an emergency room visit for Nourmand, who was treated for a range of injuries, including subretinal bleeding, cuts around her eye, a fracture of the orbital floor, blurriness and vision loss, according to Nourmand's attorney, Robert Glassman, who said she is now at risk of early onset glaucoma.

Why the drone hit Nourmand in the face is unclear, but Glassman said something obviously went wrong, and he believes his law firm can demonstrate negligence.

"When you’re operating a flying machine like that, you need to take appropriate and proper precautions that in the event of a failure, and here I think it’s clear something failed but there were no protocols in place to ensure that it wouldn’t fall and hit one of the spectators below," Glassman said.

He dismissed the idea that a waiver would shield the operators from liability.

“Even if there is a waiver to the federal regulations, you can’t operate a drone that falls out of the sky and strikes someone in the face without being held accountable. I mean the waiver is not a waiver in the event that there is an injury or that there’s negligence," Glassman said.

Firefly Drone Shows Ryan Sigmon, 28, of West Bloomfield holds one of the 60 proprietary drones before it is launched in a field near Holly on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 to test for a upcoming show.  (Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)

The FAA, however, said "based on the investigation, there appeared to be no violation of existing federal aviation regulations.”

Quinn, the owner of Great Lakes Drone Co., declined to discuss the incident, citing the lawsuit, but said “all FAA investigations are open. I'm not too worried about anything."

Quinn predicted that while accidents may happen, they will be small in number compared with the total number of drone operators. He pointed to a recent TechCrunch article written by a journalist who said a small Intel drone dropped on his head during the unveiling of a new Audi electric vehicle. The writer noted that he was not hurt.

But Quinn emphasized that drones hold tremendous promise and will be expanding in many arenas, such as package delivery, in coming years.

"The drone industry is new and emerging, and it's going to be amazing to see what's going to happen in the future as all of us come together and get better at what we do," Quinn said. “There's no manual out there that says this is how you do a drone light show."

Great Lakes has been involved in shows at state fairs in New York and Michigan, an air show in Wisconsin and a show with fireworks on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Quinn said his company was scheduled for about 50 shows this year and is booked for about twice as many next year. 

Natalie Pavlatos, managing associate of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, an advocacy group, noted that FAA regulations opened the door to commercial drone operations in 2016.

"Since then, over 110,000 commercial small (unmanned aircraft systems) have been registered with the FAA, and they expect more than 450,000 UAS to be flying for commercial purposes by 2022," Pavlatos wrote in an email.

Drone regulations

The regulations stipulate that drones must fly under 400 feet, within a visual line of site, one at a time and during the day, she said.

"However, the FAA recognized the need for this rule to be flexible and created a waiver process to allow for expanded operations on a case-by-case basis, including flights at night or multiple drones at once (both important for drone light shows)," Pavlatos said.

A waiver is also available for operators who want to fly over people.

Firefly Drone Shows Ryan Sigmon, 28, of West Bloomfield helps to position 60 drones in a field near Holly on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 to test for a upcoming show.  (Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)

In the lead-up to the October test show in Oakland County, Firefly's Sigmon described the preparations taken, such as running simulations for safety purposes. The drones would be flying at speeds up to 10 mph and with enough separation at all times.

Sigmon described the individual units as a "very stripped down, basic drone … built just for the purpose of light shows" from a proprietary design, "whatever we could build that could fly the longest and have the brightest light."

Sigmon described how he and Dorosz, who's "been winning trophies flying planes ever since he was a little kid," started the company. 

Two years ago, they were marveling at the work Intel was doing with drones, pondering what it would take to fly multiple drones. They began building prototypes in Dorosz's basement.

Now Firefly is "booked just about every other weekend," doing shows across the country.

Tags: Drone Light Show, Drone Swarm, Events

DRONELIFE is excited to announce a new collaboration with drone attorney and business expert Enrico Schaefer, of Traverse Legal, PLC and Drone Law Pro.  Welcome to the first edition of From the Ground Up: a podcast series designed to help drone businesses level up and grow.  Enrico Schaefer will interview drone businesses from around the country to identify key steps to succeeding in the industry.

Check out our first episode below, an interview with Matt Quinn of Great Lakes Drone Company.

https://anchor.fm/drone-law-pro/embed/episodes/DLP-Episode-18--Interview-with-DSP-Great-Lakes-Drone-e2fppi/a-a62qoa

[Transcript of the Show (edited for readability)]

Welcome to Drone Law Pro Radio. I am your host Enrico Schaefer, a drone attorney from the law firm Traverse Legal, PLC and the operator of Drone Law Pro. This is our first addition of “From the Ground Up”. From the Ground Up is a new show that we have put together with Drone Life and is designed to help Part-107 pilots grow their commercial drone business. From the Ground Up is going to talk to Part 107 pilots who are successful in their Part 107 operations. If you are a Part 107 pilot that is just getting started, you have been around for a couple years or you are a substantial Part 107 service provider that is looking to grow their business, then this Drone Law Pro radio show is going to be for you.

Enrico Schafer: So, welcome to the first installment of From the Ground Up. Today for our first guest we have, Matt Quinn. Matt is the CEO of Great Lakes Drone Company. They are one of the top service providers in the country providing a wide array of activities that include kind of a brick and mortar Part 107 services, as well as some interesting stuff like drone light shows. They are one of just a few companies out there including Intel that does drone light shows. They are doing lots of shows for lots of big customers. With over 100 drones in the air designing some cool stuff. We will talk about some of the drone light show aspects of this business and then we will talk a little bit about the services portion, inspection services, and what areas are hot in terms of the niches that drone pilots can be providing services in. You should understand that Great Lakes Drone has been around for a long time; this is their third year of operations. They are doing 400-500 operations a year. Some of their clients include Toyota, T-world, Michigan State Fair, Aspen Chamber of Commerce and many more.

Enrico Schaefer: Matt Quinn, welcome to the show.

Matt Quinn: Good morning Enrico, how are you?

Enrico Schaefer: Good. Matt, I want to talk a little bit about some of the things that will be relevant to other drone pilots. I really appreciate you being on this show because essentially what I am asking you to do is to share your best tips and experiences to help other Part 107 operations get off the ground. My view is that we are at a point where a rising thermal lifts all drones and so everyone helping everyone out is important for market growth. The first question I want to ask you about is kind of your own background. What pre-Part 107 experience can make a difference in a successful Part 107 operation? What kinds of things should people be thinking about in terms of what they bring to the table besides going and getting their Part 107 certificate. So, talk a little bit about your prior experiences and how it has helped you grow your business.

Matt Quinn: Well, I think there are two key factors that really help 107 pilots that stand out. Having some type of aromatic background, whether minimal or quite extensive, comes in very handy because there are a lot of laws and regulations and such that we must work through and around to accomplish the actual end products for the actual missions that our clients are coming to us with. You really must be and out of the box thinker regarding all of that. So, for me I had several years of simple air patrol when I was younger and had a lot of aeronautical background, as well as worked as a flight paramedic for several years. So, I had a lot of aeronautical background experiences regarding regulations, Part 135 operations through resource management. All those key things that are very regulations specific. And understanding the aeronautical field itself. And then having some type of minimal hobby level aspect of photography and videography when you are really starting to merge in this market. The drone industry itself is so diverse between your main markets you are looking at cinematography, you are looking at the entertainment industry, looking at the inspection industry, the ad industry, the survey mapping industry. There’s so many different dynamics all the way up to what we assume will be the future of actual delivery drone integration in a national air space. There’s a lot of background that comes together to develop the drone industry that it will become in some point and time soon. The key is having some type of aeronautical background and/or developing some and putting some time into understanding the aeronautical background, the regulations, the flight dynamics, and all those aspects. Because the safer your operation is, the more things that you put into your operations from a safety stand point is what’s going to help you stand out. The one thing people must understand is that no matter what you do in the drone industry just like everything that they do in the medical industry and they do in the general aviation, commercial aviation, accidents are going to happen. But its how you handle a situation and how you build around those situations and stuff and do everything you can to avoid them and understanding that aeronautical knowledge and being able to say that you did everything you could to get to this point. Some things are still going to happen. So, it is all of that baseline knowledge and everything that is going to make you stand out and apart as the industry moves forward. Last I knew there was over 80 something thousand Part 107 certified pilots in the US now. So, everybody is out there trying to grab whatever job they van and trying to develop a business. Most 107 pilots start with the typical real-estate stuff and everything because that is the easiest gateway into some of these aspects of drone operations. You aren’t going to make money there. So, it is taking some of this business knowledge and aeronautical knowledge and photography knowledge and if you are getting into the entertainment industry and such. It is all those things together that is going to help you build your drone business. One of the key things that I see that is a huge barrier for the drone industry beyond regulations and stuff is that everybody is fighting for those jobs, underbidding everybody trying to get their name out there, get their company out there and stuff. One of those key things you must do is develop partnerships with other drone companies. Partnerships with other industries to further that business. So, having those social skills to be able to work with other people and develop good partnerships and relationships moving forward and working through the commitments and everything is what’s going to make your business.

Enrico Schaefer: Yeah. So it’s interesting because we represent a lot of drone pilots and help them build their businesses with contracts and intellectual property and give them that presentation of being professional. One of the interesting things that I find when I talk to people is there are people that come into the business that just bought a drone and they think that that is the business. And it’s not. What I hear you saying Matt, is that you really leverage your prior aeronautical knowledge into a market differentiator. So, your ability to comply with Part 107 regulations, get your Part 107 waivers, work with ATC, express with your customers and potential customers how things need to be done right from an aeronautical standpoint is giving you some real good traction in the market. Is that accurate?

Matt Quinn: Yes, that is. A lot of people don’t realize that those key relationships and that knowledge is what’s going to set you apart. For example, working with the EAA and working with the FAA to put on the drone light show at Oshkosh was a huge feat for us, was a huge feat for the FAA and was a huge feat for the EEA. I mean we are trying to do this drone light show at a place in which you cant test the show beforehand or anything because you can not replicate the magnetic interference, the weather, the wind, the amount of planes, peoples cell phones, the Wi-Fi, everything else that is at that venue because it is so unique until you actually have to be there and do that. Not to mention all the regulatory aspects of the TFR approvals, safety margins and everything else to integrate drones outside of a cage, multiple drones in the sky while we have planes taking off just a thousand feet away from u and staging in the area. Plames flying in the area over us while we are setting up and tearing down. Pyro technics involved just a thousand feet away from us on the runway. There are so many logistical aspects to everything and to be able to pull that off and work through all of it and figure it all out together as one big team, is an amazing feat with the FAA.

Enrico Schaefer: Let’s make this clear right off the gate. This was a completely lawful operation within the regulations with direct coordination with the FAA to comply with all the different things that had to be complied with. Your prior aeronautical knowledge made that, I assume easier but also gave you a comfort level that, yeah this is possible. You could work with the FAA, here’s how you work with the FAA. The FAA is not the enemy, the FAA can be an asset with these types of issues.

Matt Quinn: The FAA is a huge asset. The thing that a lot of people don’t realize is everybody thinks that the FAA is out to curtail the whole drone industry. From personal experience, I’ve worked with the FAA quite a few times, we did the Superbowl in Minneapolis with one of our clients. We ended up filming all of the events around the Superbowl that was going on as part of the Superbowl production for the Minneapolis community and working with the Minneapolis FSDO office. When we did New York State Fair, we worked with the New York FSDO office. We are working on a project right now in California working with the San Diego LA FSDO office. Working with Vegas FSDO, working with the Michigan FSDO. There’s these men and women that work for the FAA that are there to try and help us and make things work. A lot of them are intrigued about the possibilities and where things are going to go, and they are learning with us. That’s what people don’t understand is that they want to be involved to learn more. I have worked with some of the members of NTSB and they are very intrigued about everything. It is all about data and collecting data to make things safer. To make things so that we can all learn together. For us it has been a great experience working with them. We have never really had any issues working with any of the federal branches that govern the department of transportation. Working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation on some of the projects because Minnesota and North Carolina are one of the few outliers that have internal state drone regulations and licensing and we have worked with both in the past. So, it’s been quite an experience, but we have always had a positive experience with all of them. We haven’t had any negative experiences. And we personally reach out to all of them ahead of projects and coordinate with them. It makes things much easier and having them there involved on some of the projects is quite entertaining. When we did the EAA Oshkosh show, not only did we have a bunch of heads of the FAA from Washington DC, a lot of the directors, both the director of the FSDO departments but as well as well as the airshow departments and everything, we actually had the Australian equivalent come visit and hang out with us for the entire day to see what we were doing, how we were doing it and the different safety practices that we put into the operations so that they can learn to figure out how to do some of this stuff and integrate some of this in Australia. So it’s a learning experience for all of us as we grow because there is no book out there that’s going to tell you “this is the best way to run a drone business. This is the best way to do this. This is the best way to do that” because no matter who you are, were all still working on figuring it out together. That’s one of the keys is figuring it out together.

Enrico Schaefer: Let me just put this in context for everyone, for all the listeners. So, Matt Quinn of Great Lakes Drone has this prior aviation experience and he leverages that prior experience in lots of ways. One of the ways in which you do this Matt, is your outlook. Where I talk to a lot of people with maybe prior engineering experience, or prior public safety experience or what have you and they are coming into drones and they are going to leverage their prior experience but its not aviation. They tend to see the FAA and their regulations as this big bad evil thing that is just messing them up and making it harder. You having that prior experience embrace the regulations, embrace the FAA and you are doing it one of the most challenging spaces of all, which is drone light shows. Which means it’s at night, which means you could be controlled air space, which means multiple drones from a single controller waiver. You’ve got all these waivers and authorizations you need to line up for these shows. Most Part 107 pilots don’t even have to think about most of that stuff and yet you very effortlessly navigate it all because of your outlook. Because you embrace it, because you work with the FAA, you build those relationship with the FAA to your advantage and kudos to you. I want to encourage all the drone pilots out there to think about this one question. What expertise do you bring to the table that you can leverage that gives you an advantage against the competitors? And the next question that I want them to think about is what I’m going to ask you, Matt. Which is ok. I’m a drone pilot and I’ve got prior experience in energy or infrastructure and I want to launch a drone operation, but I have no prior aviation experience. So how do I build on my experience on energy or infrastructure in a way that allows me to get up the mountain of the regulatory frame work and working with the FAA and navigating that system so that I can be like Matt Quinn at Great Lakes Drone, running these amazing drone lightshows or doing infrastructure inspections that require waivers and authorization. How do I get the aviation side? Do I need to partner with someone? Do I need to study? How do I add that critical piece to my business model?

Matt Quinn: So, it really comes down to whether, if you are coming from the energy industry or you are coming from the surveying industry, the first question you have to ask is, do you want to open up your own aviation division? A lot of companies don’t realize that if you get into the drone operations, basically you are opening from a regulatory standpoint and a paperwork standpoint. Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines, you are opening up in their line operation from a paperwork and a regulatory standpoint. First you have to ask, do you want to do that, or do you want to subcontract it out in which that’s what they do? That is the first question that you have to figure out. The second question that you have tot ask yourself is, how you can leverage that information, that knowledge, that partnership that you have in relation to the aviation aspects and the regulations and so forth. If you are going to do it yourself, you must take the time to learn. The 2018 FAA re-authorization bill that just got signed, which everybody is analyzing it and looking it over. I’ve seen several videos out there of how people think it is going to affect things and what they think the FAA is going to do and such. All it is, is a frame work for the FAA. It’s setting guidelines and so fourth for the FAA to develop the regulations, to develop these changes, to develop all of this stuff. So trying to say, ok this is what its going to be right now, is we just have to slow down a little bit and see what the FAA is going to do and how they are going to handle some of these requirements that the houses and senate and the current administration has set fourth that look, over the next 5 years these are the things that need to happen. So, we’ve got to slow that down a little bit. Everybody is jumping out on everything and stuff, you know but we must take the time and we have to invest the time to sit there and look through it so that we can anticipate these changes. One of the biggest changes that’s going to be a challenge for a lot of people, including us, when we are looking at it and stuff is the airworthiness certification aspects. How is the FAA and NTSB and everybody else going to view this new requirement of creating an airworthiness standard of these unmanned systems? That’s going to be a key factor for the future. And it’s also going to be a key factor for getting those waivers of flying over people and beyond visual line of sight. I highly anticipate some of those aspects. Taking the time and actually reading through this stuff, doing the research yourself, I see so many drone pilots, I meet so many drone pilots where they say they watched this video, they watched this companies’ video of opinions or this lawyers’ opinions of stuff. You know, all of those are great and everything, but I go through and validate everything myself. I go through and look at everything myself and I reach out to the FSDOs, I reach out to the industry leaders, I’m friends with a lot of the other industry leaders.

Enrico Schaefer: Let’s stop right there because that is the next question I was going to ask is we all know that helping each other is an important piece of the puzzle in terms of market growth and getting this emerging technology to be adopted by customers and then having customers understand that its not just buying a drone. Having drone pilots understand it’s not just buying a drone. Who are the industry leaders that you rely on that you coordinate with that some people might say, oh those are your competitors. But that you see as key resources in sharing information back and forth to help your own business grow and to help the industry grow.

Matt Quinn: Yeah, exactly. Because when we look at other key industry leaders, whether they are in the sales aspect or the development aspect. I’ll drop some names. So, you’ve got Ryan up in Lansing Michigan, he’s local. He and I are great friends and everything. He is like a regulation guru. To him that’s his hobby, understanding regulation and how these regulations affect everything. He’s a drone pilot and he owns Capitol Drones. He’s not a huge market player out there, but he’s a huge resource from a regulatory standpoint. Then we look at Doug from Sundance Media Group in Vegas. They do a lot of public safety stuff and they do a lot of other cinematography stuff. His knowledge behind cinematography and behind regulations and public safety integration and stuff, he’s a great resource and great friend as well. You look at John McBride from Rocky Mountain. John is a great guy and his knowledge behind unmanned systems and development aspects and flight characteristics and everything from a technical standpoint. He’s one of the industry leaders out there because he’s been around and been in the industry prior to the industry being an industry, working with these aerial unmanned systems. Developing those partnership and developing those relationships and stuff is the key. You’ve got Frank and Vicki from Carolina Drones, they are in drone sales. But their knowledge goes beyond that. Same thing with Doug and John and everyone else. These things develop beyond that. I mean, you. You and I have talked quite a few times over the years and your legal knowledge behind everything. All these things coming together to build stuff together and, but the other thing is when you look at cost and profit margins. If I have a client that calls me that wants something out in Vegas or California or whatever, these relationships that I have developed, I’m going to reach out to some of the people out there because it doesn’t make sense for us to travel out there to do it. So, you partner with these other drone operators and these other drone businesses and stuff to accomplish the job with high quality end products for your client with minimal cost and higher profit margins. That is one of those keys of that partnership and knowing who to talk to and throw ideas back and forth together. You have to have forward thinking mentality of looking at what’s going to be the next big thing, what’s going to be the next best, what should we set. Because right now every drone operator out there that’s operating flying in the sky, we are developing the standards and the future for the industry. And if we don’t all work together, were going to either set standards that we are never going to meet, or we are going to set standards that are not going to develop the quality end products and end shows and everything else that we want to accomplish together in the future of the industry.

Enrico Schaefer: Yeah, so Matt here’s my From the Ground Up takeaways from todays show.

1. Prior experience can be a very important differentiator. So leveraging your prior experience, whatever it is whether or not its in a technical field that can use drones, whether or not it’s in my experience, law, whether or not its in your prior experience in aviation or maybe Doug’s prior experience in public safety, find out how you are going to leverage that prior experience and make it a market differentiator.

2. Form the ground up you are going to have to build relationship with other people in the industry who bring other expertise to the table and to be able to share your expertise and receive expertise from others for the good of the industry and the importance of that in terms of making thigs grow.

3. From the ground up, if you do not see the FAA as a resource then you should probably get out of the business. If you are going to complain about the regulations, then you are in the wrong space. You should go do something else because the FAA is not going away, the regulations are not going away, and the FAA does in-fact want to help you.

4. These regulations are from a business point of view are the market barrier. Your ability to go out and do these drone light shows by getting the waivers, by getting the authorizations by working directly with the FAA, there are not many Part 107 pilots out there that could do that and pull it off. And yet, you do it in part because of your prior aviation experience.

5. The last thing, from the ground up is that you must understand that this is an emerging market. Just as you have done at great lakes drones, preparing yourself for future success is a big part of what we are all doing.

So, Matt Quinn, congratulations to you and Great Lakes Drone Company on your success today and if anyone wants to see some of your drone light show work and footage, what’s the best way for them to access that because it really is spectacular. It is unique in our business and it’s really worth checking out.

Matt Quinn: So, you can go to www.greatlakesdronecompany.com. Obviously, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all the social media markets and stuff. You can just click on drone lightshow on our website and then we have a media page there where we have a lot of videos and photos of everything. It’s an ever-growing market. The one cool thing is that we pretty much took the month of October off mainly because we have already done over 50 shows this year and we are rolling out version two of our system. We are actually upgrading to RTK on all of our systems, so we will be able to do some really cool stuff here in the future. So, we took the month to work on testing and work on all of our system and upgrade all of the systems. That’s the unique thing is that no matter what you do in the drone industry is that the technology is always changing, and you are always trying to improve and be better at what you are doing. Sometimes you have to take a little time off to accomplish those things. We have shows starting again in late November and we’ve already booked quite a few shows between now and August of next year. So, if you are listening to this and you are looking for a drone light show, you want to book soon because we can only do so many shows in a day and we already have about 86 shows booked between now and August of next year. If you want to get on the list, you must get on the list soon.

Enrico Schaefer: Great. Matt Quinn, CEO of Great Lakes Drones, thanks for being on this first addition of From the Ground Up. A special podcast by Drone Law Pro and, sponsored by DroneLife. We will be doing this every other week, interviewing the top people in the industry so that you, Part 107 pilots, and you, Part 107 business, can get the insights you need to succeed. Until next time, fly safe.

Tags: Drone Technology, Small Business