Drone Capture Matures

Drones are many things to many people and not all of them are good. An example is the individual that six months ago stated online that he had seen pictures taken from drones at 400 feet above the ground, the legal limit of drones in the U.S. In his opinion, if you’ve seen the world from 400 feet once then that was enough. Why would you need to see it again? Well drones allow you to do a slight bit more than that.

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have a history that dates back to the 1700s, it’s only been in the last 18 years where drones were readily available to consumers. In 2006 after Hurricane Katrina, UAVs were permitted to fly search and rescue missions in support of the rescue efforts. In 2010, the French drone manufacturer Parrot demonstrated its first, small quadcopter. It was unique because it could be controlled by a smartphone. Then in 2013 DJI, the current leader in the drone market, released their first Phantom Drone.

Since that time, drones have increased in popularity and capability. Drones now do a tremendous amount of good.

1. 1. In real estate, it’s been found that 100% of buyers will begin their search online. Sellers can show pictures of their home online or they can combine those pictures with drone photography and a virtual tour.

      In a recent snapshot of the Scottsdale real estate market, many of the homes up for sale had been there for many, many weeks with a high percentage taking price reductions to try and move the property. On the other hand, those homes with drone footage and virtual tours had been on the market for less than 30 days. Also, drone footage and virtual tours reportedly moves the home 20% faster with 9% higher price tags.

   2. With properly equipped drones, Search & Rescue Teams now use drones to locate people on the ground. Certain drones have thermal imaging capabilities. They can detect a heat source in the forest below. The thermal imaging capabilities are so good that the drone can see if there is someone on the ground that may be injured or incapacitated.
   3. Drones are also used for the agricultural spraying of crops and they are used in construction. For construction we have several drones that can fly predetermined missions to plot out a piece of land. The drones use GPS satellites to measure accuracy to within about 16 feet. Obviously in construction that’s not good enough.
      So, we match up ten or more GPS satellites with a base station using Real Time Kinematics (RTK) for improved accuracy. With RTK we can get the accuracy down to within three inches. All RTK does is take the various GPS signals the base station receives and put them through a sophisticated algorithm to tell the drone exactly where it is. Now we can take that drone and repeatedly fly the same mission time after time.

      Maybe it is a construction project and the builder wants to see exactly how things are doing month after month. Maybe the project requires excavation or backfill. Using the drone with RTK abilities, we can make precise estimates of what’s required.

   4. Drones with RTK are also used in Cinema. With the DJI Inspire 3, we can program the drone to fly a precise path time after time. If the Director wants to shoot a scene 100 times, then no problem the drone can fly that route repeatedly.
   5. Finally, we have the complaint about seeing the world from 400 feet. If you’ve seen it once then you’ve seen it as many times as you need to, right? For me, that’s like saying, “I saw a photo of a landscape once, why would I need to see more? “
      Six years ago the British Journal of Photography determined that drones and cameras can be art. At the Printspace Gallery in London, they started giving out the DJI Drone Photography Award. The Exhibition highlighted the photos of two drone pilots, Tom Hegen and Markel Redondo. If you look at their work, it’s hard to tell if they are drone photos or works of art.

So while some people may complain about drones, this may be the same kind criticism that the horse & buggy received when cars came along. Seriously, if you’ve ridden down the road on a horse, why would you need to ride down the same road in a car? A good question if you’re living in the 19th Century.