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It’s all about​ the data!

Writer's picture: ian7355ian7355

They say that size doesn’t matter, they say that it’s a myth! And while to some degree this is true (in this case we are talking drones) we have found that the truth is somewhere between the two.


UAV technology comes in many different shapes and sizes, from the ultra small and portable Mavic Pro (which some of you may have) to large heavy lifting rigs that are designed purely for lifting cinematic camera equipment into the sky. But in practical terms, the thing that always tops size Is quality of data.


Picture this, You hire a drone operator to carry out an aerial survey, its in a very tight space and awkward to get to. Your operator slides open the doors of his van to reveal a huge shiny 20K drone, with a lens so long it would pick up a nat flying over 3 miles away. He spends ages preparing the drone for launch, it soars into the sky and….It’s so big that it cannot get close enough to provide the detail that you need! If the operator had come prepared with several different machines, they would have been able to get the quality of data that you needed.


How do you get the quality of data you need?


This tends to be a combination of 3 factors:


1.Questions, Questions and more Questions!


Your drone pilot should be asking you lots of questions on the pre flight briefing. Not just questions about public access etc, but also about the type of data you require. What is it going to be used for? What software packages are you intending to use it with? How accurate does it need to be?


2.The Software Platform


There are lots of different platforms available for aerial surveying, with Pix4D and DroneDeploy being the market leaders. Does your drone pilot know which is best for your job. If they don’t know the platform, the results will be lacklustre and will not give you the level of detail you require.


3.The Right Tools for the Job


Sometimes a little Mavic Air is better for your job than a DJI Matrice (a very expensive drone with an even more expensive camera) This is a controversial thing to say, but it just is! Having a good sized stable of units designed for specific tasks means that your partner has the hardware required for many different situations. Your chosen partner should not be afraid to pull out a smaller machine such as the Mavic air if it is better for the job, they should also be able to tell you why it is better.


If you can put ticks in all three of these boxes, then you should get the results you are looking for. Just remember quality trumps size every time!


If you can put ticks in all three of these boxes, then you should get the results you are looking for. Just remember quality trumps size every time!



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