Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/620628
due to their speed and superior battery life, rotor-based drones – such as quadcopters like the popular Phantom series from DJI or the new Falcon 8 from from Topcon – are more versatile since they can hover in place. But it's likely the drone landscape won't stay divided between these two categories. In November, Amazon unveiled a drone prototype with a hybrid design: part helicopter, part airplane. After reaching altitude verti- cally with its rotor system, the aircraft's rear propellers kick in, allowing horizontal flight. But the great thing about this technology is that you don't need a custom kit or an expensive setup to see it make a big impact on your business. As reported in our September issue, Texas-based contractor Rogers-O'Brien (ROB) Construction owns a fleet of at least 10 drones and the majority of them are rather simple quadcopters made by DJI that can be had for as little as $1,000. ROB employs the footage and photos gathered by the aircraft throughout its building process, from pre-construction site plans through to the wrap-up photography it hands over to clients in the closeout phase. ROB is also using its fleet of UAVs for weekly aerial progress photos, noting that when the firm was solely relying on aerial photography services for this job, the photos were outdated by the time they received them. "Plus, we can't get a helicopter to hover 10 feet from a slab ledge to make sure steel indents in a facade are in the proper place," says ROB's Blake Potts. How to operate legally Compared to a year ago, businesses have a much clearer understanding where the FAA stands on the issue of drones. The agency will soon require all drones to be registered with the government before they can be flown. According to a recent proposal by an FAA drone task force, the registration process will likely be a quick online form with a registration number emailed instantly that can then be affixed to the drone before flight. This registration will ensure the FAA knows exactly who owns a drone should it interfere with commercial aircraft or cause danger to civilians in another way. We also know what the FAA's rules for safe operation of drones will likely be once a final draft is issued in the next couple of years. Here are the key points: • The drone must weigh 55 pounds or less • Must be flown at speeds less than 100 mph • Operator must ensure the drone stays within his/her visual line of sight (VLOS) • A first-person camera cannot satisfy the VLOS re- quirement, but can be used as long as requirement is satisfied in other ways • Cannot be flown above 500 feet • Drone can only be flown when weather affords at least 3 miles visibility Though a manned aircraft pilot's license is not re- quired, drone pilots must obtain a UAS operator's cer- tificate by passing knowledge test at FAA facility every two years, with a TSA check. But until all of this becomes law, the question of legality comes down to only this: businesses who wish to operate drones, must apply for a Section 333 exemp- tion. That's it. And can start the application process for that exemption at www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_pro- grams/section_333/. Upward, onward Perhaps the best example of this technology's cur- rent and potential impact on construction is how it is already spawning new types of businesses around the industry's applications. A year ago Komatsu announced that it was launching a new drone-based service that, if successful, would transi- tion the company from being one that supplies contrac- tors with heavy equipment, to one that is acting as a con- tractor itself. (See Equipment World's December issue.) Dubbed Smart Construction, Komatsu's service is pair- ing the intelligent Machine Control (iMC) technology found on its latest dozers and one excavator, with drones to create a fully-automated, pre-foundation site prep ser- vice. And instead of selling this technology to contractors, Komatsu is leasing the service directly to clients. Another interesting construction focused drone com- pany is DroneBase, a service launched this year that allows businesses to quickly hire a drone pilot. The service is a great way for firms who aren't sure they want to make the financial and time investment in drones quite yet to take the technology for a test drive. With just a few clicks on the company's website, con- tractors can request a pilot to take either aerial photos and video of their jobsite or, for jobsites less than 50 acres in size, aerial mapping and surveying is available. For $399, the service offers 15 to 20 high-resolution aerial photos, 3 to 4 videos and a final edited video "showing the best" of your jobsite. For those firms who have been hiring airplanes or helicopters for their aerial imagery, the savings are substantially more drastic, says DroneBase CEO Dan Burton. January 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 20 innovations | continued A quadcopter from the drone pilot rental ser- vice DroneBase.