Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/389791
October 2014 | EquipmentWorld.com 28 the venture has been figuring out how to slow the flying wing drone down. If the aircraft is moving too quickly, the Canon SS260 camera onboard isn't able to take enough images to create a complete model of the land being surveyed. The images can be blurry if the aircraft is moving too fast. The FAA and the future When asked about the FAA's pos- sible objections to his new com- pany, Tomsu says it's not a concern for him. "The FAA is being stupid. They're putting out this mispercep- tion that it's illegal," he says. And though Tomsu supports the agency's decision to implement regulations in order to ensure the safety of what he believes will be a big industry, he says there's "no way" the FAA finalizes such regula- tions by 2015. Evans, too, supports regulation in order to make sure use of UAVs and drones on jobsites is as safe as pos- sible. "UAVs have so many uses and have so much promise that they will be a widely used technology for the future. We want to minimize things that could ban the technology," Evans says. "I expect the FAA will come out with a way to rate competency and they may also require some safety measures to decrease the chances of colliding with other aircraft." However, Evans says he's con- cerned that the regulations the agency implements could overreach. "For instance if they require you to file a flight plan for UAVs, that might kill the potential for an industry." Meanwhile, Tomsu says he's al- ready got clients lined up. "I really want to go after quarries nationwide. That's going to be a huge business. Many of them have no clue how much material they have on hand. Stuff is moving so fast in construction when they're producing their aggregates they have to shut down and retool to create a different size of material. They know how much they sell but not how much they create," he sayd. "I want to build 500 of these flying wings and I'd like to work out a yearly contract with quarries where I do weekly surveys with drones." Tomsu recently tested his process on about 50 acres at a Texas rail sta- tion stockpile that supplies the Eagle Ford Shale. He says it took a few flights with the hexicopter but gave him the opportunity to compare the data he can gather to LiDAR, the laser-based measurement technology the stockpile currently uses. "I think it's great because every- body is scared to death because they think flying these things is illegal," he says. "I know what it is. I know it's not illegal and I'm going ahead and I'll be ahead of them." cover story: drones | continued 2905 Shawnee Industrial Way, Suwanee, GA 30024 T. 800-762-4090 F. 866-472-4950 E. ussales@geith.com Find your bucket at www.geith.com overbuilt to be overworked. Geith and the Geith logo are trademarks of Geith International Limited.