Why drones matter

Suffice to say, perhaps, what I’ve experienced in just the last few months was already telling:

• Understanding the lay of the land. I’ve gotten lost for several hours on forested land in Mountain View, Hawai’i. There’s 42 acres to assess and I don’t want to get lost again. Moreover, I don’t have a lot of time to walk every square-foot, including risking falling into fern-hidden lava tubes. A friend suggested after that that a drone would have satisfied the desire to understand the lay of the land. It became apparent that a drone would have saved time, money, and possibly lives. That’s what got us started.

• Engineering. I wanted to see a bird’s-eye-view of our country property in Kahalu’u, O’ahu to assess locations for a photo-voltaic panels. What is the potential of various trees or other obstructions on south-facing panels? What other potential impacts of existing conditions conflict/complement the project? Yes, a drone provided this insight.

• Search & rescue. My dog got lost in Hawai’i Kai, O’ahu. This was a very disturbing, life-or-death matter, that could ruin one’s day. Sure, one could drive a vehicle around the neighborhood, but what if your dog likes to go into other people’s backyard? Yes, a drone can go there and find out.

Based on the above, I’d say that taking flight and having a bird’s-eye-view matters. Drones with first-person-view (FPV) cameras, which is its bird’s-eye-view in real time, provide for methodical, safe, and economic investigations, and vastly increase the chances of a successful outcome. When I think about it, I do wonder about how things could have been better with drones. When I look forward, I feel life will be even better with them.

Need more examples?

• Here’s another on matternet: http://www.ted.com/talks/andreas_raptopoulos_no_roads_there_s_a_drone_for_that.html

• Here’s DARPA’s director on her historical and progressive overview: http://www.ted.com/talks/regina_dugan_from_mach_20_glider_to_humming_bird_drone.html
• Here’s Amazon.com’s future Prime Air delivery service: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=8037720011

‘Iolele Co. will provide for your successful outcomes with drones involving but not limited to skilled flight & photographic/video operations, training, overcoming technical limitations, and engineering economic solutions for you. Please note that the U.S. governmental regulatory environment for drones is rapidly changing. In 2015, we expect the FAA to provide clarity for our future flight-for-hire services.

Mahalo,

Jonathan