Drones in Solar, Aerial Thermography For PV Site Inspections & More with Austin Coffin of Raptor Maps
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Release Date: 06/17/2020
2020 Season 1 Finale - UAS Opportunities in 2021
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
To all the Harnessing Aerial listeners this year and everyone who liked, subscribed, or shared the podcast this year - THANK YOU!
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What Drone Pilots Need To Know About Safety, Networking, Education/Training, Disaster Response, and Other Lessons To Be Learned By Looking at NCDOT’s UAS program success with Darshan Divakaran
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Darshan Divakaran, founder of AIRAVAT, President of AUVSI NC, and former UAS Executive Consultant with the NCDOT, comes on the show to share his valuable insights including what drone pilots/programs should do to create a safety culture that ensures safe operations and other lessons learned from the NCDOT’s UAS program success. Also discussed is the importance of education/training, the new normal of UAS networking, and Darshan's tips for drone pilots to get involved in disaster response operations
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New American Engineered UAS Platform, PRISM, Set To Be A Game Changer & The Most Versatile Drone In The Industry With Bobby Watts of Watts Innovations
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Bobby Watts, owner of Watts Innovations joins Leo to talk about how his extensive UAS background led him to develop what is set to become the most dynamic and versatile drone platform in the industry, PRISM. In this episode, you will learn all about the PRISM platform including its propulsion ID, customizations, airframe, compatible payloads, systems, battery type, remote controller, technical specifications including flight time, industry/service use cases, flight software and so much more.
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Using Drones in Public Safety with Fritz Reber, Head of Public Safety at Skydio and Former Police Captain at Chula Vista Police Department
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
William “Fritz” Reber, Head of Public Safety at Skydio and former police captain of the Chula Vista Police Department joins Leo for a discussion on drones in public safety diving into how CVPD was able to obtain the first BVLOS waiver granted to a public safety organization and tips for other agencies interested in applying for a tactical BVLOS waiver. They also dive into Skydio’s future outlook between being named 1 of 5 US approved drone platforms, $100M Series C funding round, and much more.
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Growing Your Drone Business, Branding/Marketing Tips, and Developing Your Skills As A Drone Pilot with David Young of Drone Launch Academy
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
David Young, Founder of Drone Launch Academy joins Leo for an interesting discussion centered around how new drone pilots can grow their business and develop their skills to find early traction and create long term success within the industry. David shares stories from the thousands of drone pilots his company has trained and provides interesting branding and marketing tips that will surely help new to the industry remote pilots score early wins and build momentum.
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Effects of COVID on InterDrone 2020, How To Broaden Your UAS Network, Create Content, & Market Your Drone Services with Mike Pehel, Chair of InterDrone
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Mike Pehel, Chair of InterDrone, joins the show to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected InterDrone and what the current plan is for the 2020 conference. Mike also shares why flight logging is one of the most underrated marketing/sales tools for drone pilots and drone service providers, how a niche focused strategy helps you build expertise & credibility within your industry segment to grow your business, and why Google Ads is a crucial tool for DSPs and how to leverage it effectively.
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Aerial Thermography, UAS Software Tools, Risk Assessments, 107.29 Daylight Waivers, Infrared Drone Inspections & LinkedIn Marketing Tips With Ryan Bliss of Infrared Aerial
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Ryan Bliss, Founder of Infrared Aerial joins Leo to discuss considerations for how to get into aerial thermography as well as various use cases for thermal drone inspections such as solar, commercial roofing, and other infrastructure. How leveraging LinkedIn to market and sell your UAS services, how to get a part 107.29 daylight waiver, and the best software tools for flight planning, mapping, airspace and flight logs, and Ryan's top 3 lessons learned from his experience as both a manned and unmanned pilot.
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Zipline’s BVLOS Medical Drone Delivery & COVID 19 Response With Bryan Kopp Mission Controller & Drone Delivery Flight Operator at Zipline International
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Bryan Kopp, Drone Delivery Flight Operator at Zipline International discusses how Zipline secured a BVLOS waiver from the FAA to conduct COVID-19 response drone delivery operations in North Carolina, and what is required to remain compliant with that waiver. We also get into the technology built into the Zipline UAS aircraft, what makes Zipline unique compared to other drone delivery companies out in the industry and their future US & international expansion plans, and SO MUCH MORE!
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The Hard Truth On Drone Networks & The Why Behind Skye Link
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
In this solo episode with host and CEO of Skye Link, Leo Adams, dives into what is a drone network, why most have a bad reputation within drone pilot circles, and the pros and cons of working with a nationwide drone service provider pilot network.
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How To Become A Better Aerial Cinematographer, Real Estate Photographer, Drone Pilot Instructor, and More With Skip Fredricks of Hollywood Drones
Harnessing Aerial - Drone Podcast
Skip Fredericks, An Emmy nominated aerial cinematographer, comes on the show to share insights from his drone industry success with drone pilots interested in getting into the production industry. He discusses strategies for overcoming the barrier to get into film/tv including the importance of building a portfolio to showcase your brand. He shares ways to book more shoots and real estate gigs, and shares his top 5 cinematic video and aerial photography shots that every drone pilot needs to master.
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(1:11) Tell us about your background and what brought you into the drone industry?
(2:43) Tell us more about Raptor Maps solar specific drone services and the data analytics it provides?
(4:10) How has the industry-specific focused strategy helped fuel Raptor Maps growth?
(7:10): Can you talk to us about all the various types of solar companies and what the differences between them are?
(9:50) What drone services are being offered to solar EPCs, O&M, and asset management firms?
(13:30) What challenges are solar companies having when trying to create their own drone program?
(15:30) What are the pros/cons of using image & video capture to inspect solar farms? Which method does Raptor Maps use to process inspection data?
(19:54) What recommendations do you have for drone service providers interested in getting more involved in the solar industry?
(23:22) Which drones and thermal sensors work for solar inspections? What are the pros and cons of various options out there?
(29:03) Where do you see the solar industry moving and how do you see drones continuing to support the industry
(32:10) Final 3 Rapid Fire:
-Coolest place the drone industry has taken you?
-Craziest client request?
-Coolest project you have worked on?
What You Will Learn-
(3:00) How Raptor Maps is supporting the solar industry with its cutting edge drone analytics software
(5:25) How an industry specific focused strategy can help propel business growth and differentiate yourself from competitors
(7:30) The differences between various kinds of solar companies, what they do, and the relationships between each of them
(10:00) The drone use cases in solar and the services drone providers can and are offering in the solar industry
(13:45) The challenges that solar companies are having when trying to implement drone technology and where opportunities lie for DSPs
(16:30) How to capture high quality infrared and visual data to inspect solar systems
(17:45) The most common types of thermal anomalies found in solar inspections that are incorrectly identified
(18:30) The pitfalls of processing solar inspection data into orthomosiacs and using it to generate inspection reports rather than image based analytics
(20:10) Why solar companies with internal drone programs still often need drone service provider support
(20:50) Tips for drone pilots and service providers to get more involved within the solar industry and find opportunities
(23:50) What thermal sensor work for solar inspections and why only certain resolution sensors work
(24:20) What lens size for thermal sensors is the best (ie 9/13/19/25/etc)
(25:25) Why software considerations are so important to establish before even doing flight planning and conducting the solar inspection
(26:45) Why a dual IR & RGB sensor is extremely beneficial for solar inspections and the pitfalls of using an infrared only sensor like the XT
(29:30) Where the solar industry moving in the future, how drones will continue to support the industry, and where opportunities can be found moving forward
(32:55) The opportunities in solar warranty claim inspections
Links Mentioned-
For more information on the podcast or this episode visit: https://skyelink.org/blog/Harnessing-Aerial-Podcast-Launch