Author: Sky Vision

For almost five years, agricultural drones have been revolutionizing the landscape of farming. Undoubtedly next generation farming, drones have contributed to helping farmers to understand every square inch of their acreage and even cut down on the pesticides they use.

Before the deployment of drones, farmers had little choice but to use heavy, expensive machinery to manage each harvest. Today, this has completely changed. Crop analysis can be achieved by simply piloting a drone and taking aerial photography.

Moreover, diseases, pests’ pesticides can be identified at a much earlier stage with precision farming techniques. Using drones to take aerial photography in Dubai – or aerial photography of any agricultural landscape the world over – allows farmers to collect valuable data and images, allowing them to optimize each harvest.

Agricultural Drones of Today

As you’d likely expect, agricultural drones have become increasingly sophisticated over the last few years. The innovative technology combined with a cost-effective solution has seen farmers employ drones to great effect.

From real-time monitoring to automated planting and crop management, it’s clear that drones will play a pivotal role in the future of farming, and not just in Dubai. In fact, Japan has been using drones to for rice growing for years and the USA and with the UK are both beginning to see the mainstream adoption of drone technology within the farming sector.

The surge in using drones for agricultural purposes has prompted many farmers to consider which is the best farming drone. So, if you’re considering investing in the future of farming but are unsure which drone is best suited for your application, then you’re in luck. Leading drone company, DJI has recently launched two new drones specific for agricultural application.

The DJI Agras T16

If you’re looking for a drone that offers superior practical application with features that go a step further than shooting aerial photography in Dubai and can disperse pesticides proficiently to crops over an expansive square footage them the DJI Agras T16 is just the drone for you.

Featuring outstanding flight performance and supported by the T16 spray can take which can carry up to 16 litres per flight and has disperse vector of 6.5 metres. With such exceptional functionality, it’s not hard to see why the T16 is being lauded as one of the best farming drones on the market today.

Anything else? Yes. The T16’s superior functionality is further bolstered when you factor into account its spraying system. With four delivery pumps and eight individual sprinklers, and a maximum spray rate of 4.8 litres/minute, this drone offers nearly peerless functionality and is capable of spraying 10 hectares of arable land per hour. Perhaps more notably, the spraying system features a progressive, new flow metre which delivers higher precision and stability than conventional flow metres.

For almost five years, agricultural drones have been revolutionizing the landscape of farming. Undoubtedly next-generation farming, drones have contributed to helping farmers to understand every square inch of their acreage and even cut down on the pesticides they use.

Before drones became integral to progressive farming, farmers had little choice but to use heavy, expensive machinery to manage each harvest. Today, this has completely changed. Crop analysis can be achieved by simply piloting a drone and taking aerial photography.

Moreover, diseases, pests’ pesticides can be identified at an earlier stage with precision farming techniques. Using drones to take aerial photography in Dubai – or aerial photography of any agricultural landscape the world over – allows farmers to collect valuable data and images, allowing them to optimize each harvest.

The spray tank and the battery can be easily exchanged, allowing for increased proficiency and power. What’s more – and something that will no doubt pique the attention of any Dubai drone company and farmers – the drone’s updated radar navigation system can identify whether it’s day or night outside without being affected by light or dust.

Last but by no means least, the drone features different modes for different landscapes. From flat landscape to undulating greenery and even mountains and orchards, drone pilots can adjust the settings to achieve optimal flight regardless of the territory below. This allows for farming drone pilots to enjoy seamless navigation regardless at the touch of a button.

The DJI P4 Multispectral Drone

Just a quick look at the specifications of the DJI P4 Multispectral drone and it’s not hard to see that it has been designed with agricultural application in mind. Any Dubai drone company, or drone company located anywhere around the globe, with a focus on helping farmers to optimise their processes must consider this purpose-built farming drone.

Amongst the many specifications tailored for farming, the DJI P4 Multispectral allows you to access information collected by both an RGB camera and a multispectral camera setup. The integration of this multispectral camera setup is as proficient as it is requisite for gleaning valuable data, essential to superior farming.

The unique five-camera setup includes blue, green, red, red edge and near-infrared bands, all of which operate at 2MP with a global shutter on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal. Not only that, the DJI P4 Multispectral drone features an integrated spectral sunlight sensor on the top of the drone which captures solar irradiance, maximizing the accuracy and consistency of data collection at different times of the day.

Moreover, users can also enhance the accuracy of RTK positioning without an Internet connection by connecting the P4 Multispectral to the D-RTK 2 High Precision GNSS Mobile Station and NTRIP (the network transfer of RCM online. Observation data, essential to any successful implementation of aerial photography in Dubai, can be stored and used for Post Processing Kinematics (PPK).

DJI Drones for Agriculture in UAE and Worldwide

In unveiling two new drones specifically designed for agricultural deployment, DJI has laid down the gauntlet to drone manufacturers whilst recognizing that progressive farming will require drones of superior capabilities as we move in the 2020s.

Much will be written about in the coming decade as our acceptance of drone technology not just in agriculture, but a wealth of other sectors begins to unfold. However, what’s apparent is that drones will play a significant role in helping to achieve optimal processes in a wealth of fields.

The only point left to make traverses every sector and is, if you don’t move with the times, you risk being left behind, watching as your competitors reach for the skies. Sky Vision is a drone filming company in Dubai, UAE, which always strives to keep up with the latest and greatest aerial photography technology.

Without a shadow of a doubt, drones have revolutionised a wealth of sectors in Dubai. This is a trend that’s unlikely to change in the coming years. You only need to look at forecasted economic markets to discover this.

In 2017 alone, the drone market was predicted to swell to a value of $1.5 billion dollars by 2022. Since 2018 saw no evidence of a deceleration in the demand for the technology, with a new Dubai drone company being formed seemingly all the time, it seems that what was once considered to be an optimistic forecast may prove to be right on the money as the next three years unfold.

What has been highlighted is that the swelling drone market represents notable opportunities for the GCC oil and gas and utility sectors, with the presence of drone deployment in these sectors expected to grow by 43% and 32% respectively. But what are the other sectors likely to be calling on companies like Sky Vision who can provide effectual drone services in Dubai to customers?

Well, some sectors have already seen drones revolutionise business practices, whereas others are tentatively taking to the skies. But what cannot be argued is that each of these five sectors is likely to witness mass drone technology integration in the coming years, leading to the not overly ambitious forecast that the drone market will be worth $1.5 billion by 2022.

E-Commerce

With companies like Amazon already experimenting with drone deliveries, it should come as little surprise to anyone in the know that e-commerce companies across Dubai – and throughout the world will follow suit – if they haven’t already done so!

Employing delivery drone services in Dubai not only reduces delivery lead times as they do not need to adhere to traditional transportation routes, but suppliers can accurately gauge how long it takes a drone to transport goods. The quicker the delivery lead time is, the more satisfied customers are likely to be too!

Moreover, there’s no denying that drones will lead to further automation, allowing companies to cut costs – and drones are much more environmentally friendly, an attribute that is likely to be at the forefront of company’s business models in the years to come.

Supply Chain Operations

It should also be noted that drones have the potential to not only drastically improve the last phase of supply chain operations. They can also revolutionise other phases of commercial logistics.

As any learned Dubai drone company, such as Sky Vision, will be quick to point out, drones can prove to be very effective in terms of business inventory management by using RFID or barcodes or even gaining on inventory overview and scanning for defects.

In addition to this, according to drone industry aficionados, it won’t be too long before drones are employed in Dubai – and across the whole of the world – in place of factory forklift trucks and robots to move items around an environment. Though this is somewhat commonplace already in some business, expect the practice to grow in 2019 and in the coming years – with the large-scale inspection, extraction, and relocation of materials using drones a distinct possibility.

Agriculture and Farming

There are few sectors destined to benefit more from drone technology than the agriculture and farming sector. With the days of farmers not overtly embracing technology resigned to the past, drones are deployed in the sector for one, primary reason.

The detailed, HD images that drones can capture allow farmers to get a clear idea of how their crops are performing. Especially useful for farmers with generous hectares of land, drones can be piloted across great distances quickly, allowing farmers to check how well their crops have performed at any time in the season.

In addition to this, drone services in Dubai can help to find irrigation patterns, pest problems, and soil variation. With construction of the world’s largest vertical farm at a cost of $40 million commencing in Dubai last November, you can be that drones will be employed to monitor the growth of crops inside the 130,000 square foot installation.

Entertainment

One sector that you might be surprised is predicted to see an influx in drone services in Dubai in the coming year and beyond is the entertainment sector. Drones offer a cost-effective way to shoot panoramic views of eye-catching environments. Companies do not need to invest a fortune to hire a helicopter or small plane to get aerial shorts. All they’ll need is a drone and a good pilot!

The next time you watch a TV program of movie ask yourself if that shot was achieved by a drone. You may be surprised to learn just how often drones are used. Not only that, drones offer filmmakers the opportunity to achieve elevated camera angles (2-90 meters off the ground) that until the dawn of drone technology were thought to be nigh on impossible to achieve without highest specialist camera cranes.

Construction and Real Estate

Now, the construction sector seems to the one sector that’s mentioned all too often to benefit from drone technology. This is not without good reason. Industry experts expect the construction sector to be profoundly affected by drone technology.

From employing a Dubai drone company to take images of specific areas of a construction project to the transportation of lightweight materials, drones are expected to continue to revolutionise the construction sector across Dubai, the GCC region, and beyond. Forecasters have speculated for a while that drone deployment is the natural progression of the sector after the large-scale mechanisation of decades ago.

Drones will be primarily deployed to conduct surveys on construction sites. The opportunity of gathering far more data than ever before, allowing businesses to better prepare for, and track the progress of projects, deploying resources where applicable and saving costs whilst minimising the potential for any issues to arise and enhancing safety continues to be highly attractive to companies who continue to be responsible for erecting Dubai’s scintillating urban landscape.

These are just five examples of sectors that are likely to see drones continue to revolutionise in 2019 and the coming years. It’s going to be exciting to sit back and see how drone technology will continue to positively change all our lives as this year unfolds and we head into the next decade.

When dusk has fallen, Sky Vision’s drone pilots (in the UAE) are afforded some exquisite opportunities to take to the skies and capture panoramic images of one of the most contrasting skylines in the world. Chic, colour-rich urbane environments are juxtaposed with sublime, muted desert landscapes, presenting unique opportunities to capture inspirational images.

However, as experienced as a daytime drone pilot may be, flying drones at night presents a different proposition altogether. Standard daytime flight dexterity and practices must be honed to account for reduced vision. The more experienced drone shooting services in Dubai are, the more proficient they’re likely to be when flying drones at night.

Experience and proficiency aside, what do you need to know when flying drones at night in Dubai? Here’s a handful of necessities to consider when planning a twilight drone flight.

Know the Area

When flying drones at night, it’s paramount that you know the area. Whether the location is one that you frequent often or if you’ve undertaken numerous scouting excursions prior to your first flight, you need to make sure that you know where your flying like the back of your hand.

Why? It’s obvious – reduced visibility. Make sure to note where buildings, natural landmarks, power lines, or any other obstacles are. The first night time drone flight can be a mite jarring, even for experienced pilots. The more the know, the more likely you are to mitigate any potential hazards.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Not altogether dissimilar from knowing the area of your nocturnal flight is the awareness you have of your surroundings. Drone video services in Dubai – and experienced hobbyists – are well-versed with using their phone or other portable control system to fly their drone. However, this does preclude pilots from persistently fixing their eyes on their drone when in flight.

Why is this a problem if you have a screen display? Well, when your drone is airborne in the reduced visibility of dusk, keeping an eye on the flight path at the expense of obstacles can distract pilots from the immediate surroundings. Remember it only takes a small collision for your drone to incur damage – and, in the worst-case scenario, plummet to the ground.

The ND Filter

For anyone unaware, a ND filter (or neutral density filter) allows a photographer to control the image exposure by reducing the amount of light entering a camera’s lens. Under bright sunlight, a ND filter gives photographers more options when selecting an aperture and shutter speed, thereby preventing overexposure.

Long exposure shots should be straightforward for experienced drone shooting services in Dubai to capture as the cameras on DJI drones are stabilized. In setting the right shutter speed, photographers can capture light trails which contrast the murky night sky with piercing landmark illumination, for example.

Capturing vivid colours with your daytime drone photography requires an ND filter. Using the smallest aperture and the lowest ISO possible will inevitably overexpose your shot. Therefore ND filters should be applied. However, with the reduced dusk lighting, this is simply not the case. Shooting at night using an ND filter will result in dull colours and muted, uninspiring images.

Fly at an Increased Altitude

When flying from point A to point B at night, it’s advised that pilots increase their altitude. Why? To avoid any obstacles. The higher you can reach in the sky, the less likely you are to collide with power lines or architectural aspects of a building.

It’s always advised to be safe, rather than sorry, and this ethos is no more apparent whether you employ drone video services in Dubai or if flying your drone personally. Reduced visibility can obscure all manner of hazards and be especially challenging for anyone remotely-controlling their drone from the ground.

The bottom line is that even if you’ve conducted comprehensive research of the location and know precisely every dot on the landscape, you’ll need to exercise caution to ensure that collisions are 100% mitigated. It’s almost impossible to know the minutest details of your flight path ahead of time. The best way to do this is to soar at an altitude and take a flight path that offers zero opportunity for collision – in other words fly as far away from any potential collisions.

Reduce the Brightness of Your LED Lights

Intending to capture some jaw-dropping aerial photography shots of Dubai? Don’t forget to turn the LED’s on your drone off. LED’s may be great for identifying your drone, but the illumination of the lights that cause a red glare that will penetrate all your images.

If you can vastly reduce the brightness of the LEDs and still be able to identify your drone in the night’s sky, this may be the best solution. The problem with turning your LED’s off altogether is that should you lose control of your drone, or veer away from a flight path, it will be very difficult to find your drone should you land in a spot that you didn’t intend to.

The good news is that experienced drone shooting services in Dubai and hobbyist pilots know to control the brightness of their LED lights. But for anyone unaware, all you need to do is to go into camera settings and general, then select LEDs Auto Turn Off. This automatically turns off LEDs when you start recording or press the shutter button to capture an image. Learning to control the LED light function yourself is integral to capturing those dazzling night-time images.

These are five tips to successfully operating drones and camera equipment at night. Learn each and you’ll feel confident controlling your drone at night and be able to capture photos and videos that will truly inspire.

In the commercial landscape, what you want is for any business relationship to feel organic, easy, beneficial, able to seamlessly meet your requirements. This is true regardless of the sector, demographic, or nature of the products or services.

One of the most common causes of professional friction, one that can result in a fundamental breakdown in communication, is when professional goals aren’t aligned. Not being forthcoming from the outset of the relationship or a fundamental disconnect in communication are most often the culprit of this.

How to find the best Drone Companies in UAE

Asking questions is an essential part of the client on-boarding process. In a competitive commercial environment, trust and confidence is everything. Without either of these attributes, the seeds of indecisiveness are being sown. This is a slippery slope to professional disagreements, turmoil and, in the worst-case scenarios, a complete breakdown is commercial communication.

So, why are we outlining the obvious? Well, it’s paramount for customers of drone companies in UAE to inspire client confidence just as it is of any business. Asking businesses, like the much-lauded Sky Vision, the questions that you want answered should be encouraged. But, what should you ask?

Let’s look at the most common and astute questions to ask a drone company before engaging their services. Be sure to read the article to the end – you’ll learn of one or more questions that you haven’t already thought of.

What Certifications Do You Have?

Now, this may sound like a prerequisite when engaging the services of a business in any sector, but the importance of ascertaining that a drone company has a commercial flying license valid in the UAE is paramount.

It’s also worth mentioning that just because a company or individual for that matter has a license to fly drones in the USA or the UK does not automatically mean that they’re clear to take to the skies in Dubai or the UAE.

Drone companies must get a No Objection certificate from the DCAA. All drones must be registered with the GCAA. Be sure to check with any Dubai drone companies that they have a GCAA drone registration certificate and that they have special operations permission to fly commercially for specific purposes, including surveillance, media, agriculture, and inspection.

What Services Do You Provide?

Not all drone companies in the UAE provide the same services. Some may specialize in providing aerial photography or videography for media purposes whereas others may have customers that primarily work in the property or construction sectors. Before committing to one drone company make sure that they can expertly provide the service that you’re looking for.

Remember too that just because a drone company lists experience one sector or another it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have comprehensive experience – it may just be that they’ve completed a handful of projects for say, media or mapping purposes. The breadth of experience is less important than the specific experience.

Think of it this way. You wouldn’t commission a carpenter to design and build you an elegant, bespoke bookcase if they predominantly design and build chairs. Sure, the skills are probably in their wheelhouse but aren’t you better choosing someone with the specific experience you require?

What Insurance Liability Do You Have?

A learned and astute drone company should be able to demonstrate that they carry drone insurance. As outlined by the General Civil Aviation Authority and The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, drone flights are regulated. In addition to being aware of specific no-fly zones, drone operators must also have insurance coverage.

So, what’s covered under drone insurance? Physical loss or damage of UAVs (inclusive of detachable and non-detachable payloads) for instance is one of the most widely cited drone insurance coverage. The insurer will pay for physical damage to the UAV in the event of a crash, collision or if the drone is damaged in transit.

Loss or damage to UAV spares. This insurance coverage accounts for physical theft, loss or damage to spare parts throughout the period of insurance. Damage could occur in their property or when drones in are the custody of another party, or whilst in transit.

Third-party legal liability is also pertinent for drone companies in UAE to have. These sum up who is legally liable to pay compensatory damages for damage to third party persons or property, invasion of privacy or any noise liability.

A responsible drone company in Dubai will be transparent with the insurance that they have. This provides customers with the assurance of their professionalism and prowess whilst allaying any concerns.

What Aerial Photography Equipment Do You Have?

As with technology of any nature, the more cutting-edge the hard or software used, the better the service is likely to be. Would you automatically gravitate to a business that’s still using a dial-up online connection or sends all communications in the post and not online? Probably not. The same ethos should be considered when considering hiring a drone company.

Now, we’re not saying that you’re likely to come across a single business in the digital age that still sends faxes or types letters using a typewriter, but you get the point. The better the equipment, the more likely that your chosen drone company is to deliver stellar results.

Some drone tech to look out for, or ask about, includes any product from the DJI range, from drones to cameras and gimbals. If the company flies a DJI M100 UAV great! Though don’t forget, all the DJI range of drones, including the DJI Mavic Air, and Spark are all formidable!

If you’re looking to use a drone company for photographic or videography purposes or thermal imaging, make sure to check that the drones they use have stellar cameras. Or, should you need a drone company to provide extension aerial mapping of a large area, say for agricultural purposes, you should probably check how good the drone’s battery life is – after all, you may need the drone to stay airborne for a prolonged period.

What Is the Project Timeline?

So, you’ve decided that the drone company has the right acumen and experience, is insured and has the right equipment to achieve what you need. Is that everything? No, not quite. The last question to ask is, perhaps, the most obvious – how long will the project take?

A learned and experienced drone company in Dubai, like Sky Vision, will be able to provide you with an event schedule of when they project will be completed, along with a quotation for the work. This is all part of providing a valued and transparent service. Any drone company that takes your details, accepts an upfront payment for the work (if requested), and doesn’t complete it is not the right company for you.

Reputable drone companies in Dubai should provide you with a definitive and transparent project timeline, or when the project will be initiated and when it will be completed. You may get lucky and get your project started immediately or you may have to wait a short while but, nevertheless, the transparency of the company is what you should be looking for.

Well, that’s really it. Five questions that you need to be asking a done company in the UAE before engaging their services. Be sure to remember each, and the answers you’re given, and you’ll surely be able to find the right company for your purposes!

Drones in Dubai – Or Anywhere in the World – Make Working Environments Safer

Drones aren’t afraid of heights, neither do they rely on the grip of toes or fingertips. Drones provide a different viewpoint of an open expanse and offer unique insight that drives process success. They aren’t phased by closed spaces and exposure to hazardous material won’t result in serious health ill-effects to operators.

You may be wondering what on earth we’re droning on about. Let us explain; drones can complete dangerous professional duties, so you don’t have to. Deploying a drone to complete a survey or explore hard to access environments isn’t just advised, it’s practically becoming a requisite.

Think of it this way. In the past decade more than a thousand laborers in the US have been killed whilst working in confined spaces. Think of the lives that could have been saved if businesses had the facility to send a drone into a confined space to complete reconnaissance or surveying, scoping out the potential dangers that faced anyone who decided to venture into a confined space.

One such victim, a 43-year old AkzoNobel employee, Clinton Miller, was working in an environment with oxygen levels at just 11%. He was trying to retrieve a piece of discarded material at a North Carolina chemical plant. This cost him his life. Piloting a drone inside, fitted with a grappling device, would negate the need for Clinton to venture inside the environment, and saved his life.

Enter the Drone in Dubai

We all know that drones can take superlative aerial photography in Dubai – and indeed across the whole world – can be deployed at the scene of an accident to assess the situation, are very useful in propagating crops for agricultural purposes. Not only that, they can make overseeing a construction process simpler and capture stellar commercial images and videography shots. It’s clear that given their scope of application drones ability to enrich our lives is limitless.

Need any more convincing? Leading blue-chip businesses have been assembling fleets of drones to manage some of their more dangerous jobs. AT&T, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Dow Inc are just three examples of businesses that are placing their faith in drone technology. From inspecting tanks and towers to squeezing through tight spaces to reach a specific point in a structure to identify and replace elements of a structure, drones are quickly becoming paramount to big business.

Why? Progressive companies usually consider a better way to complete tasks whilst mitigating any potential risks to their employees. This is just as true of a Dubai drone operator as it is of any global business. If companies can send a drone in to examine an area of a petrochemical facility, for example, as opposed to having a person physically undertake a journey fraught with danger, sending the drone in wins every time.

Why Drones Relied Upon by Blue-Chip Businesses

For all the talk of AI, robotics, and automation streamlining commercial processes and improving on what was previously thought to be fully optimized, it’s drones that have the potential to impact commercialization to the greatest degree. Why? Cost, efficiency – and safety.

Let’s look at an example. Before the use of drones at Shell’s refineries, inspections of gas flares used to be a laborious process often taking days. To get inspectors close enough to the flame-spewing stacks (which, of course, was inherently dangerous, systems had to be taken offline. Then inspectors were hoisted hundreds of feet in the air, contained within a metallic cage to the top of the stack. Using a drone in Dubai – or in any global location – inspecting refineries can be achieved in a matter of hours from ground level.

AT&T has invested in a large fleet of drones to insect its 65,000 mobile phone towers in the US. Given that a tower can rise as high as one thousand feet in the air, engineer’s jobs are not without a significant amount of peril. In fact, the death rate from an industrial accident is nearly ten times the rate of that of construction workers.

Over the last two years alone, AT&T has deployed drones to eliminate the need for engineers to climb 5,000 of their towers in the US. Each of the drones is equipped with high-powered cameras, meaning that taking aerial photography in Dubai – or indeed anywhere they are deployed in the world – is completed to the best possible standard.

The director of AT&T’s drone program, Art Pregler, has said that the drone they deploy send images that are so detailed that ground-based workers can identify the threads on a bolt. With this degree of detail, clear safety, and ease of operation, it’s no wonder that drones are revolutionizing sector-specific processes.

Why Drones Are Relied Upon by Start-Up Businesses

Drones can help to bridge the gap between small businesses and SMEs and blue-chip companies. Why? Drones are cost-effective. Prior to the advocate of drone technology, create film-making, be it for a studio picture or commercial marketing purpose was costly. Very costly. The only way to get action shots or create compelling video was to charter an aircraft or helicopter and bring a camera. This could amount to tens of thousands of dollars. More to the point, there is always an inherent risk with flying.

Today, drones can be used to paint commercial buildings and industrial structures for a modicum of the cost of hiring an articulated lorry with a lift function just to paint buildings at height. Though this may sound futuristic, it’s happening right now.

A commercial drone start-up company in Jacksonville, Florida is designing drones to paint multi-story buildings and industrial structures. Co-founder, Jeff McCutcheon has iterated his belief that placing an employee atop a structure in the 98-degree southern heat can be a health hazard. Using drones mitigate the possibility of accidents occurring – thereby making working environments safer.

It seems clear that the potential impact that the best drone company can have, or indeed drone businesses anywhere in the world is vast. The extent of drone adoption is yet to be fully realized, however, it’s surely not unreasonable to assume that drones will have a much more drastic impact on the commercial landscape sooner than any of us may think.