Drones: An Evolving New Tool for Realtors

Drones are transforming a variety of industries, from delivery services through to inspecting solar panels and everything in between. One pioneering sector that long ago embraced drone technology is real estate. Back in 2012, when drones were still in their infancy, realty commentators like Anita Cooper broadened the industry for the new breed of airborne robots by writing educational articles in trade magazines and websites. With the passage of time, drones have now become a crutial part of the realty business landscape.

Ernie Miller of Cecil County, for example, has been an avid cinematographer since childhood. He has integrated that passion into his realty day job by capturing shots of properties with a drone. To do so legally in the USA, realtors must have an appropriate exemption or pass the Part 107 exam from the FAA.

Ernie uses a Phantom 4 aircraft manufactured by the drone industry leader, DJI. The Phantom 4 has a 4K camera, can travel up to 4.3 miles from the operator and has a front-facing obstacle sensing system. The camera can capture butter-smooth, fluid shots which is a crucial feature for real estate footage.

Miller explains the virtues of using drones, particularly in rural areas, “it is ideal when you have a large property or a farm,” he explains. “It’s also great for waterfront properties. Shooting from the air gives you a good angle of the property from the water. You are able to get the dock and the home in the background. Getting a shot from a boat, you don’t get the scope of the property like you do shooting from a drone.”

Hud Benson, is another local realtor who utilizes drones. He began his drone journey using the DJI Phantom 2 Vision in 2014.

The legacy drone models used by both Miller and Benson have been superseded by far more capable aircraft, recently launched by DJI. Notably, the Phantom 4 Professional has a 1-inch 20MP CMOS sensor able to capture 4K-resolution at 60fps. The aircraft boasts a network of forward, rear, side and downward sensors for obstacle avoidance.

The brand new Phantom 4 Advanced released by DJI in April 2017 features an identical camera sensor to the Phantom 4 Professional, but does not have the rear and side obstacle avoidance sensors.

With both models you get the option to have DJI’s remote controller with an integrated high-brightness display.

The advantage of using a drone for real estate is that the full overview of a property can be captured – cheaply. The only alternative would be using an expensive helicopter or airplane. Luxury properties, in particular, benefit from the characteristic cinematic long sweeping shot that can be achieved with a drone.

“I have used my drone to shoot farms that are for sale,” Benson comments, “it is also a nice tool for doing an elevation photo of a home in a case where the neighborhood is an asset and you want to show where that home is in relationship to the other homes and the surroundings.”

Very generously, Benson also frames an aerial shot of a property and gifts that to the realty customer after they transition into their new home.

As evidenced by both Miller and Benson, realtors have much to gain from incorporating drones into their workflow. Utilizing drones in the realty sector will only become more popular as this astounding technology continues to evolve.

 

 

 

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Yearly review on drone and VR/AR: which industry is heavily bubbled?

2016 was a hard year for many drone companies: Zano and Lily failed to bring out products, GoPro is having problem re-launch its Karma. 3D Robotics decided to quit the competition of consumer drones and turn to industrial drones. Other companies, including Zerotech, Yuneec and Parrot, reduced their work force. Media begin to hold doubts on the industry—is it heavily bubbled? It’s already March of 2017, what will drone companies do this year? How will the industry perform?

Influence of capital

VR and AR industry had very similar experience like drone industry from 2015 to 2016. Once so promising, VR/AR suddenly entered winter in later half of 2016. HTC Vive has got really good sales numbers, but HTC’s financial quarter report shows the income fell by 64% year on year. Facebook shut down over 200 experience stores. Just like Recode once pointed out, VR age is still far away.

The reshuffle of drone market could be a result of globally decreased investment. According to KPMG, venture investment has plummeted compared to 2015.  Hot money were thrown into drone, VR and AR in 2015, stirring intense completions.

According to Market Watch, the investment for drone market has dropped drastically in late 2016. VR and AR are having shrinking investment. Large proportion of these companies are start-ups. When investment stops pumping in, the supply chain, would be endangered. Drone start-ups will fall into deep financial crisis.

Facing similar difficulties, the environment of drone market is quite different from that of VR/AR.

Is drone market heavily bubbled?

What kind of AR/VR products do we want? In what scenario do we need them for? These are questions we are still trying to figure out. But drones are quite different, they have simple appearance and clear features: they are convenient, reliable and intelligent aircrafts.

In my point of view, VR /AR industry is based ‘future demands’, which are not very urgent today. But Intelligent aircrafts are already improving efficiency of various industries: military, agriculture, security control, search and rescue, television and filming etc. The demand for UAVs has been expanding steadily since 2013. IDC Report of 2016 pointed out that DJI’s market share in China dropped for a while. This aroused doubt that drone industry has peaked. In fact, the reasons behind could be much more complex.

Foldable Mavic Pro was a blast to drone industry. It has sparked unexpected enthusiasm, even DJI was surprised by flooding orders of Mavic Pro, so it has been out of stock for quite a while. Fool.com estimates that DJI’s revenue in 2016 may hit $10 billion, increasing ten times of what was anticipated. For now it’s hard to tell how big drone industry is, but Mavic Pro at least proved that consumer drones are truly needed.

So drone market didn’t reach saturation. 2016 witnessed a very unique drone market influenced by capital.

Supply chain

UAV and AR/VR products are very different in terms of production. When a drone company is short of fund, it might be faced with huge pressures from its supply chain.

There are various VR/AR products on market now, many of which are low-end products. These products do not need highly advanced technologies and cost little. Even high-end product like panorama camera is not very difficult to handle—at least not dangerous. So short of fund is not that precarious for VR/AR companies.

Drones are quite different. If a drone crashes during flight, it could lead to serious consequence. Thus, consumers are expecting high-quality drones. Which means the process of R&D and production must be highly strict.

With lower costs, VR/AR products are sold at lower prices than UAVs, which means mass production is easier. The price of drones is less flexible with high costs. When the comments of a drone are not positive, it’s really hard to sell. This in return puts lots of pressure on supply chain.

The threshold for drone market is actually really high. Only mature companies are able to control supply chain and manage their products. In 2015, DJI sold its Phantom 3 Professional at $1259, while 3D Robotics sold its solo drone at $1700. Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics commented that ‘no one but DJI won this brutal price war’. By early 2016, the stock of solo drone has reached 60,000, draining up the cash of 3D Robotics. Soon 3DR quit consumer drone market silently.

Will DJI remain the unicorn?

Drone technologies are more mature than that of AR/VR, and have been used for quite a few years. As the profit rate decreases, it would be harder and harder for others to keep up with DJI. With inferior technologies, these drones are less attractive to consumers, which in return affect R&D input. The gap between DJI and new drone companies will be widened.

Taking Xiaomi Drone for example. As a smartphone giant, Xiaomi has huge advantages on supply chain. So many were very optimistic about it entering drone industry. However, the result was not satisfying. It turned out that Xiaomi Drone has similar features and functions of Phantom 3, which was released in 2015. Public started to realize Xiaomi is lagged far behind of DJI in terms of technology.

Other portable drones like Dobby and Breeze have unsatisfying features: short video transmission range, short flight time and low-quality footage. By the end of 2016, both companies had to lay off. But Mavic Pro showed the market how DJI managed to miniaturize a drone without compromising its performance. Media around world gave it positive reviews, TIME magazine even named Mavic Pro as one of the ‘Best Inventions of 2016’. Its success once again proved DJI has far advanced technologies than the rest.

With lower profit rate, drone companies are more vulnerable than AR/VR companies are. When the investors are throwing in less money, the R&D and production of new drones will be severely influenced, which would eventually lay bad influence the sales of new products.

What will drone market like in 2017?

In conclusion, 2016 marked the reshuffle of drone market. The market remain stable, but has changed a lot since two years ago. In 2014, DJI was only slightly ahead than others. When it came to 2016, other companies were left way behind.

As many companies have been driven out of drone market, those who have survived mainly choose to develop industrial drones (just like 3D Robotics did). Can they find their places in the market of industrial applications? Is industrial drone market an ‘asylum’ for these companies? We will have to wait and see.

When the investment slows down, companies that are weak in R&D and supply chain would be ruled out. The reshuffle of drone market is not necessarily bad: it makes room for strong competitors in terms of market share, talent and capital.

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What We Talk About When We Talk About Drone Safety

Frequent accidents of drone crashing in airports previously have drawn the public’s attention to drone safety. For the sake of safety, some media pointed out that the government should enforce the drone license to keep drone flight under strict supervision. Some aerial photography fans also appeal for self-disciplined flight. There are also professionals from an economic perspective worrying that the “across-the-board” restrictions might ruin the whole drone industry.

Well, what we talk about when we talk about drone safety?

What a drone means to us on earth?

Most people tend to view drone safety from the perspective of model aircrafts. They think that flying drones is just a hobby and it should be strictly regulated for the sake of safety. Well, are pilots with drone licenses really safer than beginners? From an economic perspective, is the drone industry really similar to the toy industry?

Though China has been leading the way in global civilian drones, most people still treat drones as “model aircrafts”. How’s the situation in Europe and American area? Just take a look at the disputes on drone regulation between Amazon and the American government in recent years, you can know that they don’t take drones merely as “model aircrafts” and they put much more emphasis on the “automation” of drones.

“Drones” add enormous automation functions to traditional model aircrafts, so they are both “model aircrafts” and “robot”. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, drones have realized many automation functions, such as auto stabilization, auto obstacle avoidance, flight route management and one-click Return to Home (RTH). (See the photo below)

Though pilots can still directly operate their drones at present, they can only control part of the functions because most of the functions can be realized through computers—we can even preset the flight routes and tasks so that pilots don’t need any operations after the drones take off.

The key to understanding drone safety is not that it is a “model aircraft” but that it is a “robot”.

Drones are more than a business.

Many people attribute the importance of civilian drone industry to China’s leading role in the world. But actually drone industry matters not only for economic factors.

Civilian drone industry is more than a toy industry. It is the practice and application of top technologies for robots, AI, chip and wireless transmission and automation in aerospace. Just think about where these top technologies are applied on ground.

This is an Autopliot Driving car (photo above).

Self-driving cars has become a hotly contested spot for different countries. Self-driving cars can turn the city into a completely automatic one and the patented technology and standards involved will become the blood transfusion tube for the whole smart city in the future. Hence, the applications of automation technology on ground are strategically crucial for every country.

Since the automation technology on ground matters so much for countries’ development, what role does aerial automation technology play in future smart city? According to Samsung’s SmartThings Future Living Report, drones are also an important part of smart cities apart from their aerial photography functions.

Are aerial drones just model aircrafts? According to Ford Motors who has been endeavoring to develop self-driving cars and smart cities in the United States in recent years, aerial drones are more than model aircrafts. And Ford Motors has joined hands with DJI on developing a linkage between drones and self-driving cars. (See photo below)

At present, 3D Robotics, Qualcomm and Intel compete to become the “Android in the sky”. According to the Nikkei Business Daily report, Japan is also joining the battle for drones’ industrial standards and strategic area in the sky. Even though China is leading the way in global civilian drones at present, our knowledge of drones are greatly lagging behind others.

Is it really necessary to abandon China’s civilian drone industry just for the sake of “drone safety”? In this case, we are not merely giving up a 10-billion US Dollars industry, but our important strategic advantages in the sky.

Why does a drone crash into an airport?

Let get back to the drone safety. How to avoid a drone crash in the airport? Is it enough to set the No-Fly Zone, or enforce a drone license?

But the question is actually: why does a drone crash into an airport?

There have been strict regulations long before prohibiting drone flight near an airport, but we still cannot avoid such accidents. So “lack of regulations” is not the key answer to this mistake.

Today’s drones are very advanced and easy to operate. Most people are aware of the No-Fly Zone near an airport. So “lack of a drone license” is not the key answer to this mistake, either.

According to an article on iFanr, drones should be regulated, but it’s hard. The reason is that the small-size and agile drones are difficult to be observed or banned. Besides, drones are quite easy to operate, even a child can learn how to operate in 15 minutes, making it hard for law enforcement agencies to enforce a drone license.

Do you really think that No-fly Zones can prevent such accidents? If a drone license works, there wouldn’t be people studying the anti-drone system or even planning to track and catch drones with trained eagles. (Photo above)

The sky is not like a road where enormous light signals and road signs are set, so it’s difficult to guide the pilots to plan their flight routes. The most effective way at present is to make use of drones’ intelligent technology—set a Geo Fencing in the sky through GPS positioning. However, this method depends on the condition that the civil aviation agencies set the No-fly Zone and the drone companies manage the Geo Fencing.

In short, drone safety is not about “regulations”, but about management.

Car accidents are also dangerous. So should we ban automobiles on the road to avoid car accidents? Traffic safety requires for proper management, thorough road planning and reasonable regulatory guides instead of a sweeping approach. Even so, we can only reduce drunk driving, overspeed driving and reckless driving.

As proper management is of vital importance for traffic safety, self-driving cars have drawn much attention from the science and technology field because only the most advanced self-driving technology can avoid drunk, overspeed and reckless driving and properly manage automobile. (Photo above)

Similarly, the key to drone safety is drone management: even though the government set No-fly Zone across the country, it can only be carried out through intelligent drone technology.

If we can realize precise no-fly area, why not carry out precise drone management? Why civil aviation agencies don’t cooperate with drone companies to make powerful and intelligent drones avoid airplanes’ flight routes more effectively? Why should we recklessly turn an area of about 1000 square meters into a No-fly Zone? Moreover, even some skyscrapers are higher than the 300-meter flight height limit for drones.

Maybe we won’t ever get the answers. We are underestimating the drone industry by treating drones as “model aircrafts”. No one attempts to cooperate with drone companies to involve drones into the civil aviation management system (Photo above).

If we cannot even manage drones properly, how could we forbid drones in No-fly Zone?

In this case, do you still think drones are just “model aircrafts”?

In 2017, DJI plans to apply the ADS-B aviation management system (photo below) in its drones. Yet those who have been bragging about distinguishing drones from “model aircrafts” are sneering at DJI’s ADS-B solutions now: “it costs too much”, “no one will use” and “it is just a fancy”. Yet many have forgotten about FAA’s expressly agreed term: in 2020, all civil passenger planes must install the ADS-B system.

We are not sure when the ADS-B system will be popularized, but we are sure that it’s the future for both aviation management and smart cities. If we only start to join the ADS-B OUT after it’s universally used on civil airplanes, the drones will lag far behind the aviation management and continue to be underestimated by most people.

In addition, if we still think of drones as “model aircrafts”, we will probably be kicked out by European and American countries from the drone industry.

 

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Drone’s Save Lives – The PR Boost Drones Need

When drone first started to become stable and reliable, industries across the spectrum brainstormed as to how to incorporate this new technology and reap its benefits. From the shipping industry, to the filmmaking industry, to the agricultural industry, drones are slowly becoming major workhorses in a number of industries. It’s exciting to finally see the exponentially increasing use of drone in the public safety sector. The faster drones are put into use; the more lives are potentially saved.With every positive use case reported on by news outlets, public safety departments get more leverage to acquire these technologies.

What accounts for this increase in drone use for public safety is the ability of drones to fly with an array of different types of cameras including infrared, multispectral, and telephoto capable. Platforms like the DJI Inspire or Matrice 100 allow pilots to swap out cameras in seconds. With custom made apps used to control the drones autonomously, user oversight is mitigated. With autonomous flight paths, one of these aircrafts can fly in a grid to cover every inch of land so no hiker is lost to the wilderness.

One such example of drones being put to the test is in Western Canada where seven skiers and snowboarders were rescued after getting stranded. Hummingbird, a drone company specializing in SAR (search and rescue) drones, teamed up with Kamloops Search and Rescue to deploy a DJI Matrice 100 fitted with a thermal camera. After only a few hours the glowing hikers were spotted on the thermal camera. “The Matrices are our favorite and the most effective for what we do because they provide a platform for us to develop on and build out functionality beyond the primary basic use case,” said Robert Atwood, CEO of Hummingbird.

(screenshot of Kamloops SAR’s XT video)

Because of the public’s skeptical position about drone use, public institutions are hesitant to incorporate drones into their arsenal of safety tools. To speed up deliberation, companies like Drone Pilot Inc. have developed programs to provide the tools and training necessary to ease safety, budget, and logistical concerns. They focus on crime scenes and SAR training and use a wide number of multirotors of all shapes and sizes the large and powerful DJI S1000 to the portable and quick-to-deploy DJI Mavic.

As more use cases develop and more success stories are published, public safety institutions will incorporate drones more rapidly and more lives will be saved. Public opinion in favor of drone use by public or federal institutions has been slow to come, but the general perception of drone use may soon be overwhelmingly positive.

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Safe Choices for Smart Drone Flight

The popularity of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), more commonly referred to as “drones,” means there are more vehicles sharing US airspace than ever before. It is of prime importance that drone operators make safe flying their priority.

Many drone manufacturers are making safety enhancements to their aircraft, but none more than the industry leader, DJI. DJI has led the charge in aircraft safety, particularly with their sophisticated obstacle avoidance systems. For example, the recently released DJI Phantom 4 Pro has a network of forward, rear, side and downward sensors to enhance safety. The aircraft rapidly calculates the relative speed and distance between the aircraft and objects which helps the operator avoid bumping into obstacles. This nimble aircraft is also able to fly in complex environments while avoiding obstacles in its path.

The Phantom 4 Pro boasts a ‘narrow sensing’ capability enabling the pilot to fly through small spaces with great confidence. Redundant IMU’s and compasses on the aircraft ensure that the data generated during flight is accurately processed. The outcome of these advanced capabilities is a reliable and safe aircraft.

Although DJI is doing everything technically possible to ensure flight safety, drone enthusiasts must also do their part. As Michael Huerta, Administrator of the FAA, previously cautioned at CES, “…safely integrating these new pilots into the national airspace system is one of the FAA’s top priorities in order to protect manned aircraft, to protect people on the ground and of course to protect innovation…”

The ‘Know Before You Fly’ education campaign founded by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) in partnership with the FAA, has recommendations for the safe and responsible operation of drones. The recommendations include advising enthusiasts to join a community-oriented flying club such as the AMA. Such organizations offer an opportunity to fly with more experienced pilots in a safe and friendly learning environment. Although there is a fee to join, the benefits far outweigh the cost. Further advice from the safety campaign includes advising drone pilots not to fly higher than 400ft (121.92m) to avoid presenting a hazard to manned aircraft.

In addition, pilots are advised to keep their aircraft in line of sight so that the drone is always visible. The campaign discourages flying the aircraft so far away that the pilot needs to rely on a smartphone or tablet for orientation. A final piece of sage advice is to avoid flying over unprotected people and to remain at least 25ft (7.62m) away from individuals and vulnerable property.

As Huerta explained at CES concerning new drone enthusiasts, “…there are rules and regulations they need to follow and it will also help them to become part of the safety culture that has been deeply embedded in traditional aviation for more than a century…”

Observing the rules from the FAA and ‘Know Before You Fly’ campaign together with using proven, safe aircraft will keep the skies a secure environment for all.

 

 

 

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How do Drone Protect the Planet’s Health?

An increasing number of conservation and wildlife welfare agencies across the globe are using drone technologies to support their efforts. Shark Spotters in South Africa are using the DJI Phantom 4 aircraft to identify and record a variety of marine life. The Rare Species Fund, which helps save endangered species, uses the DJI Phantom to tell compelling stories about their important work.

In a similar vein, an Australian conservation group has run a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a very unique project. In an effort to protect, promote and restore nature across Australia the Wilderness Society has raised funds to purchase a drone. The goal is to help monitor deforestation – the harmful clearing of large areas of forest lands for non-forest use. The Society feels that the general public is not aware of how much land-clearing is occurring, hence their endeavor to bring this issue to a global audience using aerial video.

“By launching a fleet of drone,” the crowdfunding campaign website explains,” the Wilderness Society can afford to capture more high-quality footage than ever before.”

The campaign has raised nearly three times its initial goal, so the Society can now purchase a drone to film the deforestation from a seldom-seen aerial perspective. Previous filming using helicopters was expensive, using a drone brings affordability.

The drone model that the Society has chosen is the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, one of the latest and most exciting releases from DJI. Launched in November 2016, the Phantom 4 Pro is a significant advance on DJI’s previous success, the Phantom 4. The Phantom 4 Pro has an improved camera which boasts a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor capable of shooting 4K video at 60fps. The advanced image sensors and processors ensure everything is captured with great dynamic detail. The camera is as powerful as many traditional ground cameras. The Wilderness Society will be able to capture the compelling footage needed to help mobilize its audience. The Phantom 4 Pro’s titanium alloy and magnesium alloy frame means improved robustness with less weight. In addition to two front sensors, the aircraft has rear and side sensors for obstacle avoidance.

The Wilderness Society has already passed their original funding goal to purchase one Phantom 4 Pro. Indeed, they have raised enough to purchase a second and now foster ambitions for a third.

The more drones the society can obtain, the more they will be able to capture images of deforestation which can be shared with the world. Lyndon Schneiders, the Society’s national campaign director explained most farmers were very responsible in their agricultural practices with regards to clearing land on their farms “we understand, most farmers do genuinely care about their country and do want to run it sustainably.”

The Wilderness Society, Shark Spotters, The Rare Species Fund and other conservation agencies have readily embraced the DJI Phantom 4 family of drone technologies to protect the health of the planet for the benefit of us all.

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Keepers for Famers: Top 5 Agricultural Drone

Economies around the world still rely heavily on the strong functioning of their agricultural sector. Most countries are constantly looking for ways to push yield potential, but now in more sustainable ways. As technology continues to advance, more developed countries are setting the precedence in smart mechanizations of farming.

One of these mechanizations comes in the form of drone technology. Drone technology has brought in new levels of efficiency and manageability to the agricultural sector, with applications ranging from inspection to spraying to mapping. Let us take a look at the top 5 drones that are earning their keeping on the farm.

1. DJI Agras MG-1

Built with a propulsion system that allows the octocopter to carry up to 10 kg of payloads, DJI’s Agras MG-1 is one of most powerful ag drones out there. The power is not without speed, as this drone sprays about 50 times faster than manual spraying operations, and that too with amazing accuracy. Furthermore, its intelligent spraying system automatically adjusts its spray according to the flying speed so that an even spray is always applied.

This drone is for farmers seeking technology that is not only intuitive and can apply pesticides and fertilizers with automated perfection, but also designed to handle rough treatment. WeTalkUAV sums this drone up well, “the device is made for use in precision agriculture – spraying fertilizers, pesticides…It’s also tough: the machine is waterproof, dustproof, and can simply be hosed down after use.”

2. Sense Fly eBee Ag

Curated especially for collecting actionable data, the eBee Ag requires close to zero piloting skills and is extremely versatile. It uses an automated process that requires the farmer or researcher to define the area that needs to be scouted, after which it proceeds to fly, following the defined map, and captures high resolution aerial images. These shots are then transformed into an info-packed index of the crops.

What is even more helpful is that the eBee Ag features a diverse range of camera options, including NIR, RGB, thermal and multispectral performance, that can be used depending on the agricultural application. The analysis and assessment of soils, minerals, crop health, machinery input and more is usually a complex, expensive and inaccessible procedure that hinders the progress of farming. eBee Ag truly changes the game – with its full drone to tractor workflow provision. Now agriculture service providers have a reliable helper for plant stress assessment, biomass indication, leaf area indexing, nitrogen recommendation, biomass indication, tree classification and much more.

3. Precision Hawk Lancaster 5

For those looking for a sturdy and consistent data collector, the Lancaster 5 is built to last. Similar to the eBee Ag, it too is autonomous and optimizes a flight plan to collect data in the most efficient way. However, it is designed specifically to survive hard landings and unfavourable environmental conditions.

The Lancaster 5 is only one part of Precision Hawk’s package. To ensure the effective operation of the drone, Precision Hawk offers in person training packages to pilots and observers. On top of that, its DataMapper software provides accurate maps of flight location and creates geo-referenced mosaics. This joint hardware and software solution is unique and a definite help to farmers. Drone Enthusiasts describes, “[the drone’s] propriety AI reacts to changing weather conditions and real-time diagnostics, while it can also be fitted with a range of imaging functions depending on what is required. The Lancaster is an adaptable precision solution.”

4. AGCO Solo Edition

Crop monitoring and optimization are two integral tasks made easy by the SOLO AGCO Edition UAV. With 2 customized cameras for aerial mapping, mission planning and cloud based high-resolution mapping software, this drone is a strong contender in the market.

A special add on that pushes this drone over the edge is the Agribotix imagining and analysis software for precision agriculture. Agribotix delivers agricultural intelligence to increase yields and profits using AGCO Edition UAV’s data collection. This package produces high resolution orthomosaics, NDVI maps and field health and management zone maps. Now farmers can just “look at [these maps] and see if the problem is bugs or weeds or a piece of equipment that didn’t function properly. [They] can either fix it or save money by not putting chemicals down on that part.”

5. Yamaha RMAX

Yamaha is known for having produced the first drone for crop dusting with a 20 kg payload, as far back as 1987. It continues to produce advanced and sturdy ag copters, now with higher capabilities. Boasting of high performance and high tech safety features, Yamaha RMAX combines spraying, seeding, remote sensing, frost mitigation and precision agriculture functions. It is especially great for accessing areas with tough ground conditions, and has a load capacity of up to 28 kg.

The aircraft is compact and lightweight, and its 246cc horizontally opposed 2 stroke is liquid cooled to cope with the hottest weather. Another plus for farmers is the possibility to control up to 6 helicopters at once during spraying operations, with no crosstalk interference. New Atlas explains, “the completely autonomous RMAX enables the pilot to watch what’s happening from all 4 cameras at once while the RMAX goes about the flight plan…. It enables high-value crops in difficult-to-access paddy fields, often on very hilly land, to be sprayed with pesticides and specialized nutrients.”

The application of drone, from precision technology to crop monitoring, encompasses the farming revolution of recent years. Farmers are now able to boost yields, cut costs and drive their business forward, helping entire economies advance in smart and sustainable ways. According to a recent research report by MarketsAndMarkets, the market is expected to grow from USD 864.4 Million in 2016 to USD 4,209.2 Million in 2022. The agriculture drone market in APAC is expected to grow at a fast pace rate with China, India, and Japan spearheading initiatives and investing heavily in R&D. Along with this, market players such as DJI and Yamaha are trying to suffice the growing demand for agriculture drones across the APAC region.

 

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Drone 4K Resolution Aerial Video is Essential

There’s a lot of white noise around the hype of image resolution, particularly in the consumer market. Major electronics companies tout 4K resolution as a major selling point for all of their newest model televisions, and it’s even a key aspect of Apple’s newest “shot on iPhone” campaign. It’s no surprise that the drone industry is following suit, providing many quadcopter options with 4K video, but is it necessary for aerial videography?

The answer, in short, is yes. 4K is slowly becoming the new standard for video; mainstream movies have been shooting at 4K or even higher resolutions for the better part of a decade and now with the new aforementioned televisions that are starting to permeate the market, standard HD will soon be fully upstaged by 4K, or “UltraHD” in every living room around the world.

So where does aerial drone photography fit in to all of this? Fundamentally, there is a general need to keep up with the Joneses- as a disruptive technology, it’s always important to be at the forefront of new advancements. It keeps a company both relevant and competitive. DJI is a good example of this ideology. Their Inspire drone was DJI’s first foray into 4K video at a time when not a lot of people, even prosumers, were clamoring for 4K resolution. But since the Inspire’s release, 4K has become a standard feature in all of DJI’s subsequent drone and camera releases including the Phantom and Osmo lines.

Speaking more creatively, shooting in a resolution as high as 4K from the air simply means all of those gorgeous aerials will look even better. Most drone cameras focus to infinity, meaning anything and everything in the frame is evenly sharp. With 4K, smaller details like tree branches, cars, and even people will stop being colorful blotches and will actually possess detail and sharpness.

On the consumer side, this is a passive feature that will make their amateur and home footage look stunning without really having to do anything different other than fly around with the camera recording. For professionals, shooting aerials at 4K means the footage can finally match the visual fidelity of expensive motion picture cameras from companies like Red and Arri. This in turn means movie and television productions will be encouraged to use the technology. It also provides the option to zoom in to specific elements within the frame if the final video is being finished at a standard HD (1080p) resolution.

4K resolution has become an essential component of not just standard video and film, but for drone and aerial photography as well. It quite simply can mean the difference between ho-hum images and jaw-dropping video.

 

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Trends in the Drone Industry From CES 2017

At this year’s CES, we saw a lot of new drone technology. Drones are possibly one of the most notable pieces of future tech exhibited at technology conventions, combining tons of features into tiny packages. So what does the future of drone technology look like? Let’s take a look at it from a few different perspectives, commercial, enterprise, and hobby.

On the commercial side, we had DJI, Yuneec, Autel, GoPro, and Powervision showing what they plan on bringing to the table. DJI already seems to have the lead, announcing a bunch of new tech late last year. This includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Inspire 2, Mavic Pro, and more, each surpassing anything else on the market. At CES, we saw X-Star comparing themselves directly with DJI by releasing yet another similar craft to the Phantom. However, the new X-Star offers modularity that may give recent Phantom buyers second thoughts. As we’ve seen, copying DJI tech is not easy and many have failed spectacularly.

Powervision, a brand new drone company, is going after the same market segment with their PowerEgg drone, a name only made sense by their craft’s shape. Although we’ve never seen a drone shaped like an egg before, it will be interesting to see if the downsides (hard to repair, weird to store) are worth the intriguing design. Strangely enough, it seems Polaroid is also going after this market with a drone of their own. Unfortunately, like almost everything else at their CES booth, their drone enforces the idea that Polaroid simply has no idea what their doing. Surprisingly enough, GoPro announced they will be re-releasing the Karma drone. Apparently, the issue was related to the battery popping out of place, but even when working perfectly, the Karma was disappointing.

On the enterprise side, DJI still was the company to beat. With their release of the Inspire 2, Agras agriculture drone, and industrial Wind line, companies like Yuneec and Powervision have huge competition. Yuneec announced their H520 hexacopter, modeled after their Typhoon H. It sports an orange high-visibility paintjob and the ability to carry a range of camera types from thermal to multi-spectral. For those industrial drone pilots with no brand preference, the FLIR Duo camera will certainly be found on a number of DIY crafts, giving budget builds the ability to record thermal video. An underwater drone announced by PowerRay was also exciting news.

For every-day consumers, both “selfie drones” and racer drones were announced. Manufacturers are looking to demystify drones and get them in every household. The ZeroTech Dobby drone, announced mid-2016 isn’t much larger than a smartphone, sports a similarly sized camera and computer vision technology. Racer drones like Unify’s Draco HD are being marketed more towards non-techies being ready to fly, hard to break, and able to stream HD video rather than the usual low-quality video racers are used to.

What we would have liked to see more of was the combination of the exciting augmented reality or virtual reality tech with drone tech, but maybe that is soon to come. DJI and Epson are currently working together to get augmented reality glasses used in conjunction with their drones, most notably the Mavic which is nimble enough to be a racer. Overall, this year’s CES wasn’t as exciting for the drone industry as other years as companies are making their existing crafts more useful, powerful, and portable (not that we’re complaining). It will be exciting to see where this burgeoning industry goes next.

 

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