Drones making a difference
Drone technology is increasingly being used for good – to support conservation, save lives and give more people access to real-time information about the world around them. From 3D mapping and surveying land all the way through progress monitoring to inspection, Drones are now helping a wide range of industries. The team at FEDS shared a few ways drones are helping us:
Helping the environment
UAE realised early on the full capacity of drones as a transformational innovation that can provide human support more efficiently in various fields. FEDS has collaborated with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in a drone seeding initiative that planted 6.25 million Ghaf and Samar trees across 25 locations in the country in a span of a few days — a much shorter time compared to the decades it used to take farmers to complete such process. The company’s seeding process, called the FEDS-HL02, has not only shortened the plantation period of Ghaf and Samar, it has also covered larger areas. In addition, the technology of drones allows farmers to track up-to-date farming information, such as water use, crop health, and soil status.
Inspection and safety
In the GCC, a great number of construction companies are now turning to drone technology to restore their operations while maintaining the safety of its workers. Drones collect data quickly and accurately to conduct site surveys of exploration sites and inform construction projects from design to execution. Aside from the contactless interaction it provides, drones keep construction workers and personnel from the dangers of surveying hazardous sites, especially since they can hover even around remote and risky spots to gather clips of the construction site. With this, contractors can just get data from the safety of their office. The drone’s ability to conduct return flights, as well as provide precise data through aerial view maps allow firms to detect potential errors effortlessly, helping to save firms’ expenses by up to 11 per cent as well as manual rework by 25 per cent.
Lastly, drones can also map and survey a construction site better than a satellite, sending updated and more precise data straight into a computer for fast-track analysis.
Inspection and analysis
In the oil and gas sector, for example, drone-powered routine inspections and safety monitoring improve efficiency without halting operations or compromising personnel safety. The machine can protect workers from hazardous sites and materials while quickly accessing and helping to address asset issues around these sites. Drones can inspect intelligently, gain detailed aerial data and pinpoint asset anomalies through automated, repeatable workflows, allowing the companies to better manage assets with minimal downtime.
Fight against the pandemic
Drones offer a solution to prevent further spread of the virus and have helped the authorities in its fight against Covid-19, providing safe and cost-efficient ways to enforce epidemic control.
During the restrictions of movement in line with the National Disinfection Programme of the UAE, drones helped Dubai and Sharjah Police broadcast messages that encouraged residents to avoid leaving the house unless necessary, as well as monitor violators of the safety regulations. The UAE has also used drones during its national disinfection program, sanitising large areas without sending people into affected places. Each drone is capable of carrying up to 16 litres of load can be used to spray disinfectant on the streets and parts of the town that are difficult to access with traditional vehicles. Drone sprays are estimated to be fifty times more efficient than hand sprays.
