Are you thinking about incorporating a UAV program into your business ?
In this article we highlight key drone features that have opened up new business opportunities and changed the game in how businesses are operating.
Industries that are currently using drone technology include:
- Agriculture
- Construction
- Delivery
- Emergency response
- Film making
- Surveying
- Real estate
The table at the end of the article provides a simple specification summary of the drones referred to in this article.
Drones for Agriculture and Farming
The agriculture industry has rapidly been adopting drone technology for years due to money and time saved by converting from manned aircraft and large expensive equipment.
Examples of drone usage in farming :
- – Routine inspections:
- Flood damage
- Check fencing
- Check irrigation
- – Looking for stray livestock
- – Yield/ biomass estimation and crop inventory
- – Check plant growth
- Identify failing plants early
- Locate weed and pest problem areas
- Locate areas that need targeted fertiliser treatment
- – Spray crops with pesticides or fertiliser
- – Assessment of soil colour
Mark Branson of Branson Farms uses the DJI Phantom 4 to identify and target weed management. Mark photographs the whole field (flying the drone himself) and contracts out the job of stitching the photos together. These aerial photographs identify weeds 3cm or greater with the high resolution camera. This map is then uploaded to his tractors GPS system to target areas for treatment.
These maps are also used the following season to increase crop thickness to compete with weed growth. Companies such as DroneDeploy help with specialised services so you can outsource tasks to speed up the process and gain a competitive edge.
There are also benefits of using a thermal imaging camera such as the Parrot Thermal 4K. Thermal imaging highlights features undetectable to the human eye. Some thermal drones can detect temperature differences as small as 0.01C. The camera detects changes in infrared radiation, mapping out hot spots to help quickly locate injured or stray livestock.
For more information check out Farming Drones ; What are drones used for in agriculture or Best Agriculture Drone for Spraying Fertilizer and Pesticides.
Drones for Construction
UAVs are becoming an essential component of construction sites to optimize operations, managing worksites more effectively and safely. The commercialisation of drones is making them a realistic, affordable addition to most construction businesses. The step-change in how business is conducted means the drone quickly pays for itself in cost and time saving. Construction drone photography for example, would have previously been captured by helicopter or from a crane at a much greater expense and longer lead time.
Safety:
Aerial footage is identifying hazards and mitigating risks from a whole new perspective. For non-experienced parties such as clients or high level management, simply being on a construction site can be a high risk event such as falling objects, working at heights and interference with day-today tasks.
Drones facilitate transparent communication to stakeholders and other parties by being able to share live aerial site inspections. Inspections can also be conducted more frequently and quickly. Areas that previously required putting staff at high risk to conduct maintenance check ups can now be conducted remotely such as roofs, towers and bridges.
Team communication:
Live drone footage allows a seamless understanding of ‘on the ground’, real-time progress and processes to the whole team. Use real and relevant examples for inductions for new team members rather than the off-the-shelf, generic videos.
Stakeholder communication & promotion:
Use the aerial footage in marketing materials to promote the business, provide progress reports to clients and create engaging content to stakeholders. Show how you deliver your projects safely and on time while capturing the real scale of the job.
We recommend looking at the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom because of its ability to capture close up footage without getting into the trajectory of cranes and equipment. It has a good flight time of 31 mins and a solid travel range of 18km to capture the size and scale of the project. The camera resolution is slightly lower spec than standard so you may want to consider the Pro version which produces a higher quality video but with this comes a slightly higher price point.
Specification summary for drones mentioned in this article:
Drones for Real Estate
Areal footage of residential houses, land and commercial properties are helping buyers find real estate from the comfort of their home with a whole new perspective. Drone footage gives the buyer an immersive, wholistic feel of the property. Residential buyers aren’t just looking for a house, they want to understand where it sits in the community.
Not only are drones capturing beautiful aerial photographs of properties they are also creating 360 degree panoramas and aerial video tours allowing buyers to visualize the proximity to parks are green areas, schools.
Engaging buyers from the comfort of their own home has never been more important and with the help of drone technology it’s never been easier.
Best drone for real estate photography.
If your intending to take drone shots for real estate look for good camera stability (check the gimbal specifications), extensive flight range and a high quality camera such as the Mavic 2 Pro. For more on drone camera stability have a look at the Best Drone Cameras post.
Drone Comparison Table
| DJI Phantom 4 | Parrot Thermal Drone 4K | Mavic 2 Pro | DJI Mavic 2 Zoom | |
| Flight Range | 3.1 miles (5km) | 2.5 miles (4km) | 11 miles (18km) | 11 miles (18km) |
| Flight time | 18 min | 25 min | 31 mins | 31 mins |
| Camera Resolution | 20mp | Thermal camera : (160×120) 20k Photo resolution: 20mp | 20mp | 12mp |
*UAV = Unmanned aerial vehicle