Most of us think of drones as remote-controlled flying toys that will be appearing under many Christmas trees in a few weeks’ time. These drones, typically referred to as consumer drones or hobbyist drones, are the smallest part of the drone market. “Drones” actually refers to a much broader group of remotely operated vehicles used in space, sky, land and sea applications. People are becoming increasingly familiar with drones as a device but there are still significant gaps in understanding why drones are so important for the future.
The most important thing to understand is that drones are a tool for gathering data, and in that context the applications of drones are many. Drones will play an increasingly important role in many companies in the not-to-distant future, with many applications for drones not even envisaged yet. Drones are already used to collect data in the following fields:
Aerial photography
2D and 3D survey and mapping
Emergency response
Agricultural surveying
Environmental and weather trends
Condition monitoring and inspection
Security and surveillance
Telecommunications
Drones are capable of capturing ground and structure survey data faster and more accurately than planes or satellites. They also offer significantly greater flexibility in their deployment applications as they have greater manoeuvrability and can operate over a much wider vertical range.
Whilst drone hardware is an important and growing industry, the big opportunity is for WA to be a world leader in data. The field of data science is dedicated to turning this data into information and knowledge through the use of algorithms and analytics to organise the data and identify trends, patterns and relationships. It is this application of algorithms and analytics that is then the foundation for artificial intelligence.
InfraNomics is working with Murdoch University and Regional Development Australia - Perth to develop Australia’s first DroneHub at Whitby Falls, near Jarrahdale. DroneHub is an industrial cluster that will provide industry, government, academic institutions, and researchers the opportunity to deploy, operate and test drones. DroneHub will provide industry with the facilities for data capture and management and academic institutions with the facilities to undertake R&D, commercialisation, and adoption of technologies that enhance a drone’s capacity to collect, store, and share data. DroneHub will also provide training, testing, and certification facilities and programs for industry.
DroneHub will be a centre of excellence for a wide variety of industries such agriculture, oil & gas, resources, emergency services and defence. InfraNomics will be engaging with industry and academia early in 2019 to develop this world-leading innovation hub. Stay tuned for future updates!
For more information please contact Angela Elliott +61 450 556 533