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Here’s why companies aren’t using drones.

Promises, promises…

If we had listened to the pundits, I was supposed to have my work issued drone by now. What gives?

‘We thought every working professional would have a drone controller in their hands.’

On June 2, 2014, the FAA put out a press release titled, “FAA to Consider Exemptions for Commercial UAS Movie and TV Production”. And with that, the commercial drone industry was born.

(Some, who may consider laws to have, well, wiggle room, would argue that the U.S. commercial drone industry started long before the FAA “considered exemptions”. But we will leave that discussion for another day.)

Cut to 4 years later. We thought every working professional would have a drone controller in their hands and a cacophony of buzzing would surround us like an army of aerial servants. Agriculture, construction, first responders, law enforcement, package delivery, healthcare, etc., etc. The list goes on.

A funny thing happened on the way to the soarin’.

So what happened? As with most things, it wasn’t a single event that delayed “the process”, but more a slow boil of conditions that mucked up the timetable.

Regulations

Technology moves quickly. Laws do not.

The FAA is a cautious organization. We don’t want drones bopping us on the head, running into Southwest 324 on its way from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale or ruining the peace and quiet of our backyard. So they moved slowly and left us wondering, “What will be next?” One-off exemptions became Section 333. Section 333 turned into part 107. Then came some night waivers. And some beyond line of sight exemptions. And some flight over persons allowances. And on it goes.

Many businesses have decided to wait on the sideline and not put themselves in the game until the clock ultimately reaches zero on changing regulations. It’s just not worth starting a program that will be superseded by some new regulation. So they wait.

Liability

“Liability” has nine letters, but lawyers only see a four letter word.

Drones are aircraft. And with aircraft, like all machines, comes a level of risk. Liability is a dirty word to corporate council. Their job is to minimize it. They ask, “Why take on the additional risk of an accident, injury, or lawsuit when considering a task that is outside the core competency of the business?”

This is especially true when you realize that there are drone companies that will perform this job for you, probably better than you can, with none (or, at least, very little) of the liability. Thus, the in-house drone department is put on an indefinite hold.

Changing Technology

Technology adoption boils down to capital, time and allowable aggravation, all three of which are in short supply in most jobs.

DJI released the ubiquitous Phantom in January of 2013. Since then there have been (count them) 13 models!

‘That’s 24 total versions of drones released by DJI alone in just five years!’

And those are just Phantoms. In addition to the Phantom, DJI released the Mavic Pro, Spreading Wings, Inspire, Matrice, Spark and Mavic Air, each with their various models and upgrades. That’s 24 total versions of drones released by DJI alone in just five years!

Before anything else, you need to decide what model to select for your particular needs. By the time you have completed your research, a new drone has been released.

Then there is the maintenance, the software upgrades, the testing and of course the training. It can be overwhelming for drone professionals, let alone an organization attempting to integrate drones into their “real” business.

First Mover Syndrome

The bleeding edge gets its name for a reason. It is often painful to be out front.

This may be a necessary job hazard for those that are starting a new industry. But blazing a trail is often best left to those with machetes, patience and the tolerance to absorb some wounds.

When incorporating a new technology into an existing business, there is a benefit to peering over the fence and spying on the neighbors. “What are they up to? That looks like it could hurt! Maybe I’ll wait a little longer and let them take a few lumps.”

Again, we wait.

So, what’s next?

Businesses and organizations are mostly splitting into three paths: wait, dive-in or contract-out. All have their merits and their shortcomings.

More Waiting

You don’t get hurt if you don’t step foot on the field. But there is little glory on the sidelines.

Sure, waiting is the safe thing to do. There is no pain, no liability and no confusion. But while you are waiting, your competition is gaining experience and getting a head start. Drones definitely offer significant benefits to efficiency, cost and data gathering for many industries. Simply waiting can leave you stuck in the past while others are moving toward the future.

Diving-In

We all had the friend that never hesitated to dive off the cliff, climb the tallest tree and ask out the most popular kid in class. We saw the glory but never felt the bumps, bruises and occasional rejection.

There are business that grit their teeth and act first. We see their employees sitting on panels touting their bold initiatives and hard won experience. But are they really using drones for their core business or is it more a win for the marketing department? Dive deeper into their hype and all might not be what it seems.

Contracting-Out

The creation of real drone departments have stalled in many businesses. Often contracting-out gets you the benefits of a drone department without the hassle, investment, liability and training.

‘It’s fun watching a drone fly, but after three flights you realize it’s all about the data.’

We see this model in so many other endeavors. Executives may travel via private aircraft, but more often than not the business charters a plane or farms out the flight department. Why do it yourself when others can do it better and safer when that’s all they do?

Let’s be honest. It’s fun watching a drone fly, but after three flights you realize it’s all about the data! Drones are simply a vehicle for carrying a camera, sensor, tool or (someday) a package. It’s the result of the flight that is important to your business, not the flight itself.

Contracting your flights gets you the data you need, like a high-resolution map, elevation data, 3-D model or point cloud, without needing to walk through the weeds (literally). And contracting can act like a virtual, nationwide drone department. Contractors select the best aircraft for the job, are where you need data collected, accept the risk, keep their fleet up to date and train their pilots.

That gives you more time to focus on the data and less on the flight.

Conclusion

Drones are here to stay. Whether you wait, dive-in or contract-out, that buzzing sound you hear in the sky is the future moving toward you.

 

 

Fovea Aero Systems is a drone innovation company and the creator of FoveaMap.com – an on demand drone app with instant quotes and data delivered within days. 

 

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3 essential marketing techniques for general contractors.

Rather than continuing to waste time on sluggish marketing campaigns, a few simple techniques can help your efforts go further faster than you think. Today’s marketing builds tomorrow’s successes. Finding that project for next week, next month or next year ensures growth and creates the opportunities your business needs.

1. Engage social media the right way.

Social media is for telling stories, providing updates and imparting knowledge. It is not for traditional marketing. You must relate your company’s personality and methods for success in an engaging, non-pushy way.

Reach prospective clients on an emotional level. Start by going beyond spouting technical capabilities and impossible timelines. Tell a story about a personal connection with a client and how it helped you grow. Talk about how a key employee saved the day and what that means to your organization.

These are opportunities to simultaneously educate your readers and let your company’s core values shine through.

Social media has three key advantages.

  1. It reaches new prospects and builds brand awareness.
    You never know who is reading your posts.
  2. It helps close deals.
    Potential clients will research your social media. Put your best foot forward.
  3. It shows current clients they’re important to you.
    Everybody loves a shout out to know they are loved.

2. Promote ongoing progress, not just starts and finishes.

Too many GCs only promote groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings. Show the journey too!

It is the journey that your clients care about. They want to know that you can stick to budgets, deadlines and quality expectations. All the important stuff happens in the middle! Demonstrate how well you operate by regularly posting updates on your projects. Doing so:

  • Keeps your business in the forefront of people’s minds.
  • Shows the strong demand for your services.
  • Engages readers by making them feel part of the progress.

3. Use imagery for maximum effect.

Yes, a picture really is worth a thousand words (or more)! Use powerful images to truly show people what your business is about. Photos of your team, your projects and your clients tell a story in a minimum amount of space.

Even better, use virtual reality imaging services like Fovea Aero Vision to set yourself apart from the competition. Current and potential clients will feel like they are there on the job site. They can pan, zoom and look around to experience your work firsthand.

VR images from Vision can be easily posted on social medial sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for a truly immersive marketing strategy. Your commitment to new technology will impress and your brand will standout from the rest.

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4 benefits of having a “visual construction diary”.

Why should you be using a visual construction diary?

Not just construction photos.

A visual construction diary documents every area and space of a construction project on an ongoing and repeating basis. Our system, Fovea Aero Vision, creates and stores high-resolution, full 360° images to record every stud, pipe, wire and duct on a project.

Track construction using Vision as if you were on site by simply “looking around” in any direction. Zoom in to see the small details. Click on past images to go back in time. Have a complete visual record at every phase from groundbreaking to handover.

Benefits that make your life easier.

Tracking and documenting your project provides real world benefits for GCs, architects, owners and insurers during construction and after completion.

1. Subcontractor accountability.

Regular, visual documentation keeps subcontractors accountable for their work. Disputes can be better resolved when you have indisputable imagery of how and when agreed upon work was performed.

2. Offsite tracking and inspection.

Full 360° images allow project managers and architects to better manage construction and inspect work from anywhere. Sharing imagery with owners and stakeholders keeps them informed and ensures small issues are resolved before they become expensive problems.

3. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and structure documentation.

Document what is inside walls and under slabs before they are closed forever. Keep inspectors in the know using high-resolution imagery without re-opening walls and tearing apart completed work. Upsell the benefit to owners and tenants of having a 100% accurate construction record for future maintenance and renovation.

4. Mitigate lawsuits and legal actions.

Guard against expensive litigation by documenting worksite conditions and safety equipment in place. Fovea Aero Vision permanently records time and date information along with high-resolution imagery. This provides compelling, documented evidence to help defend against subcontractor, laborer and owner lawsuits.

A better approach to documentation.

A proper visual construction diary like Fovea Aero Vision is complete, systematic, valuable and easy to use. It will be your all-seeing, everlasting window to your projects during construction and beyond.

Click here for a free demo account to try Fovea Aero Vision for yourself.

 

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The real benefit of VR for business isn’t the “Virtual” or “Reality”.

 

Ditch the goggles and see the real value in VR.

Drones and virtual reality. These are arguably the two hottest tech spaces right now. But how can VR really provide value for business? Hint: It has nothing to do with the goggles!

VR imaging collects more information, more efficiently.

The real value in virtual reality for business lies in the camera rather than the viewing platform. It does not matter whether you use VR goggles, wraparound screens or click and drag in a viewer. The sheer amount of data that VR captures is most important.

A photograph is merely a method to collect data. We are converting what the camera saw into digital information that can be shared and viewed later.

A traditional camera only captures what is in the frame. Everything outside the frame is lost forever.

A virtual reality camera captures a full 360-degree sphere in a single shot. Nothing is lost. The entire scene is transformed into data. The viewer is not limited to what the photographer decided to capture.

Real world businesses are putting VR to good use.

Virtual reality photography in construction documentation is a perfect example. Until now, items like pipes and wires are occasionally photographed by workers often using cell phone cameras. But anything that was not photographed is lost forever once that wall is closed or slab is poured.

A virtual reality photograph captures everything in the space. Every wire, pipe and stud is imaged. The photographer does not need to decide what is most important. Everything is stored for offsite review or later use.

VR photography is simpler to use and understand.

Virtual reality photography more accurately mimics the way we view the world. This make it easier to use.

You can take 50 traditional photographs to document everything in a space. But how do those photos fit together? And how do you label them such that the right photo is easily and quickly found?

You use a VR photo as if you were physically standing there looking around. This is regardless of whether you use goggles or a click-and-drag viewer. Finding what you want to look at is completely natural instead of a confusing prospect of sifting through dozens of photos.

The combination of gathering more data and the ease of use are the true benefits of VR. So ditch the goggles and the hype and see VR for its real value.

(Check out our virtual reality construction diary, Fovea Aero Vision.)

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Ask yourself these 3 questions before considering drones.

“It’s the year of the drone!” Countless articles have started with this statement. (There is now one more!) Beyond the hype, how do you know, “When is a using a drone right for my organization’s needs?”

The 3 most important items to consider before using drones in your organization.

1. Will a drone gather the right data?

It’s all about the data! To most people, a drone’s true value is in the data it gathers. Collecting imagery and associated data (elevation data, 3-D models, etc.) is by far the most common use of drones at this time.

Yes drones are fun to watch and to fly, but do not get caught up in their appeal. Ask yourself if the data you will receive fits your needs or if it can be better gathered using more traditional methods.

Sometimes drones truly open up new possibilities to gain insight that is difficult, expensive or less safe to see using other methods. But, in other cases, ground based imagery or traditional surveys are still more effective than drone based data gathering.

2. Will a drone fit the mission profile?

Drones currently have limitations in flight time and payload that invalidate them for certain jobs. In these cases the data gathering capability may fit but the mission profile does not.

For example, a drone is the perfect tool to map a construction site. You can gather high resolution imagery, elevation information, cut and fill volumes, and measurements in well defined and secure locations.

However, drones are typically not the right tool to map exceptionally large areas. Take a beach erosion study over 100 miles of coastline. Sure there are larger, more complex drones with extended flight times that can do this. But regulatory restrictions and associated costs often make manned aircraft the best choice for this type of job (for now).

3. Will current regulations reduce effectiveness?

FAA regulations on drone flight are still rather restrictive in the United States. The most notable prohibitions are on flight beyond visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) and flight over people (“overflight”).

As of now, the average person cannot legally fly a drone out of the sight of the operator. While a drone may technically be able to launch and autonomously photograph 5 miles of pipeline, it is still illegal to do so.

Likewise, a drone cannot be flown over people or moving vehicles not directly involved in the operation. A drone could be launched by a television station to cover a story two blocks over. But this is nearly impossible to legally accomplish in an urban environment given current overflight restrictions.

The future is still incredibly bright for drone use.

Luckily, these limitations will be overcome. Advances in flight time, load capacity and distance capabilities will remove many of the hardware limitations. FAA regulations will be relaxed as the public accepts drones into their daily lives and the flight risks are reduced through advanced designs and collision avoidance technology.

There are many reasons why drones could be perfect for your organization. But there are still a few reasons while they may not fit… yet.

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Accountability without conflict – Getting the most out of your subcontractors.

Well documented facts are indisputable.

Few people like conflict. (If you disagree, you know who you are!) But disputes are quickly resolved when reasonable, indisputable facts are presented in a well defined manner.

Let’s take the red light camera. We hate getting tickets! But it is really hard to argue when there, in glorious color, is a photo of your car directly below a glowing red light. “Oh yeah, I guess I did cut that too close.”

Subcontractors hold your success in their hands.

You are ultimately responsibility for the success of your project. You must answer to your superiors, clients, regulators, and in some cases, your own wallet. But let’s be honest, a project’s fate, and yours with it, is largely held in your subcontractors’ hands.

How do you keep your subcontractors working hard without wasting your time and energy on conflicts and disagreements?

Systematic record keeping is the key.

Well documented, even photographic, records are great for everybody. Contractors know they cannot perform substandard work and employers are confident they are getting what they paid for.

For example, Upwork.com allows businesses to hire contractors from around the world. The contractors perform various tasks like word processing and web development. A photo is taken of the contractor’s screen every few minutes while they are working and put in a “work diary”. Everybody is on the same page.

You may say, “I don’t want it to look like I don’t trust my subs.” But systematic documentation protects contractors as well. If they are proud of their work, they will be thrilled to have it documented. If they are not, then frankly you do not want to hire them in the first place.

A photograph can be worth a lot more than 1,000 words.

The same principal can be applied to many industries. This was part of the inspiration for our Fovea Aero Vision system.

Subcontractor disputes on construction projects can be quickly settled by presenting our systematic, 360-degree photographic documentation of a work site. Subs know they will be held accountable and everybody from site supervisors to stakeholders stay on the same page.

Leave behind opinion and emotion when faced with conflict. Just present the facts.

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Drone attacks – Beyond the obvious worries.

A rogue drone descends into a baseball game and crashes into a seat.

It came out of the blue!

It was a beautiful day for a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon. But those in attendance never expected what happened in the top of the seventh inning.

It came literally out of the blue. A rogue drone descended in the stadium, erratically flew around for a while, then crashed into a seat. Amazingly, that seat was unoccupied, but the force of the crash was enough to send debris hurling at people on either side.

According to news reports, the drone was piloted by an amateur photographer. (Video below.)

Those that want to harm us notice our vulnerabilities.

The organizations and people that want to harm us take notice when a vulnerability is exposed. Especially so publicly. What appeared as a curiosity may have actually done more harm than is apparent.

The inability to stop it was more noticeable than the drone itself to those that are looking. This incident was broadcast on live television, and of course rebroadcast and re-posted around the world in the news, on sports programs and social media.

Protecting corporate brands.

It goes without saying that protecting citizens and patrons from harm is absolutely the most important priority of law enforcement, security and corporations. But corporations, especially large international ones, have the additional requirement to protect their brand.

Incidents like this rogue drone at a baseball game may not have injured people, but it surely injured the brand. It may make visitors feel less safe at games. It also hijacked the story of the day out of corporate hands. And that is a story that all corporations very carefully, and expensively, try to control.

(Watch the full video here.)