10 High-Utility Drone Applications
Updated: Jun 13
In my previous posts, I have extracted information from Satellite imagery to study - Air Pollution, Object Detection, Fire Detection, Flood Detection, Urban Heat Island effect and Land Subsidence. Essentially, a satellite is an eye in the sky, operating at altitudes in excess of 500 kilometers, which captures geodata that can be processed to be useful for a variety of workflows.
Just as satellites, Drones are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) too - albeit which are usually operated at altitudes much nearer to ground level than satellites. In general, while satellites are typically better equipped to capture geodata for large geographic extents at a fast pace, drones are better equipped to capture a wide variety of geodata, generally in finer detail and with more accuracy.
A drone comprises of two vital components - a) the Copter and b) the Payload.
While the copter's characteristics determine the drone's strength, how far you can fly and at up to what height, it is the sensor(s) carrying payload which determine the industrial applications that a drone can be deployed for.
Let us see 10 such industrial applications of Drones -
(Disclaimer: This isn't an exhaustive list. The purpose of the article is to showcase a wide variety of applications suitable for a variety of industrial workflows)
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1. Aerial Mapping
Map a particular geographic extent from above. Identify features, measure distances, demarcate zones, create an engaging illustration etc. Suitable across industries & institutions.
Video 1: See how location features get mapped from an orthomosaic image -
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2. Asset Inspection
Inspect assets in hard to reach places or where human inspection is costly, time-consuming, or risky such as electrical and telecom towers, under a bridge, on roofs, and so on. Suitable for Oil & Gas, Telecom, Utilities, Insurance among other industries.
Video 2: See how drones are able to do inspection of an industrial chimney-
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3. Message Amplification
Deliver and spread messages to a crowd from the sky. Useful for crowd management, training, emergency response measures, and so on. Suitable across industries, especially for Events & Hazmat.
Video 3: See how Indian police uses megaphone as a payload to communicate and manage crowds -
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4. Multispectral Footage
A Multispectral payload helps us to see more than what visible light (optical imagery) can show us. Useful for agriculture workflows, object classification, damage assessment purposes, among others.
Video 4: See how drones can map agricultural fields using a multispectral payload and generate valuable insights about crop health -
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5. Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is the science of taking measurements from photographs. Useful for spatial visualization, monitoring construction progress, among other survey-related workflows.
Video 5: See the final product - a detailed 3D model of a residential project - built using the imagery acquired by Photogrammetry payload of a drone -
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6. Search & Rescue Missions
Scan large areas in hi-res video quality quickly to spot lost persons, monitor drowning incidents, track wild creatures and assets such as vehicles among other workflows. Drones can traverse tricky terrain with much ease and is particularly useful for emergency situations where time is of the essence.
Video 6: See a promotional video which showcases how drones can map out an obscure location and help expedite rescue operations -
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7. Security & Surveillance
Useful for spotting and detecting movement of both live creatures (humans / animals) and inanimate objects (vehicles & assets). Suitable for factories, sensitive establishments, mining etc.
Video 7: See a demonstration how a drone is able to capture human and vehicle movement, even at night, using thermal sensors -
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8. Specialized Site Surveys
Involves precise and exhaustive mapping of site. This is possible due to specialized sensors such as LiDAR. Works in Generic Environment as well as in Indoor Environments (Tunnels), Underground Environments (Mines) and for mapping Large Areas. Suitable for engineering organizations for mapping construction sites as well as for asset inspection purposes.
Video 8: Here you will see the beauty of LiDAR mapping (Light Detection & Ranging) - wherein a site is surveyed with an amazing level of detail - including small plants, trees and vehicles -
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9. Volumetric Estimation of Stockpile
Spot, measure and analyze raw material, inventory and finished goods stock at Ports, Mining locations or Distribution centers. We can process the drone imagery and get an estimate about the quantity / area / volume / depth of the material it had captured.
Video 9: See a video on Volumetric Analysis processing steps, here.
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10. Supply Drops
Use drones for supplying small payloads (spare parts, medicines, food packets etc.) across Line-of-Sight distances or beyond. Suitable for E-commerce, Healthcare, Manufacturing organizations.
Video 10: See how drones can aid in odor reduction by spraying enzymes on landfills -
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ABOUT US
Intelloc Mapping Services | Mapmyops is engaged in providing mapping solutions to organizations which facilitate operations improvement, planning & monitoring workflows. These include but are not limited to Supply Chain Design Consulting, Drone Solutions, Location Analytics & GIS Applications, Site Characterization, Remote Sensing, Security & Intelligence Infrastructure, & Polluted Water Treatment. Projects can be conducted pan-India and overseas.
Several demonstrations for these workflows are documented on our website. For your business requirements, reach out to us via email - projects@mapmyops.com or book a paid consultation (video meet) from the hyperlink placed at the footer of the website's landing page.
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