Dispelling Drone Myths: We are Aerial Influence...
Hey everybody, welcome to the Aerial Influence blog dedicated to drones and the first article of our drone series: Dispelling Drone Myths. I'm David Plummer, along with Michael Ferguson — we are Aerial Influence.
David: We might not be what most people think of when they think of a drone company. Typically, they think of Best Buy. Michael, what do you think makes Aerial Influence different from all these other companies?
Michael: I think a lot of the companies, especially when you talk about Best Buy and Amazon, are just there to sell the drone. We're here to help customers find new uses, integrate drones into their business and, not only fly the drone but teach them all the different intricacies that you can use, such as the software, the drone, the whole ecosystem.
David: I think one of the things we do, that we're proud of, is we can tailor a drone package depending on who the person is, and to what business they're a part of. Are you a policeman? Are you working in the farming industry? We've got a package for just about anybody. And if we don't have one, we can come up with something and make it work because what we never want to do is sell you something you're not going to use. Some of these drones can be really expensive. The last thing we want is for you to be upset at the end of the day because you've got this giant paperweight.
Michael: We know you want something that lasts, especially since technology changes. It is like the laptop days back in the 90s, but now, there's something new every six months. Understanding the ecosystem and seeing the evolution of where drones are going gives you a little bit more information on planning and getting what you need to work today. We keep an eye on the future because you cannot. You can never obviously future-proof everything because it keeps rolling.
David: I think too when most people think about drones, they think of cameras only. They think of cinematography, and I think that's where we're different as well. That is ONE of the things we do. We've got drones to carry great cameras on them. But, there's more to it than that. There are spotlights, thermal imaging, LIDAR; there are all sorts of things that go into the world of drones.
Michael: Just specifically, if you're talking about photography and if you're doing mapping, there's the right camera for photogrammetry versus the right camera for making it an excellent video. Those sometimes are two different cameras. Then the camera has to be integrated with the drone to get those highly precise images to do photogrammetry. That goes into a whole different realm of processes where it needs to be connected to the drone and must be integrated into the GPS and the RTK and all that to give you the output that you need.
David: I think you hit on something there. I think what we do is important and really that you've actually used these drones. We don't just have a stock room full of them in the box that we hand out to people that are willing to pay us money. We actually use these drones so that we see the pitfalls before our customers do, so that we know the issues they might run into before they ever run into them. And I think that's one of the really valuable things a smaller company like ours can bring to customers.
Michael: And building on that, we use the drones. Although, we aren't necessarily planting a field of corn, and we're not farmers or police officers. But we will get questions where we stop and say, “that's something that we have to think about.” We learn just as much from them, as they learn from us. Actually, I think we learn more from our customers, which is excellent. That allows us to come back and go, okay, if this were the scenario, whatever the scenario was (search and rescue, getting the right PSI for spraying application, etc.) we then need to test that.
David: We are so excited to share how drones can help your business, so make sure you follow us.
Michael: As always, thank you for reading. We're excited to share the future of drones with you.