Published on the 31/08/2016 | Written by Beverley Head
Australian start up Propeller Aero has launched smart control points for drone applications…
Companies looking for accurate 3D maps of their sites, plant or mines, are increasingly turning to drone-based solutions. But there has, in the past, still been a significant manual component.
Australian software company Propeller Aero is now tackling that. For $US6,000 organisations can buy 12 pizza box-sized smart ground control points, able to cover an area of 150 hectares, that does away with the need for any ground survey in a drone mapping application.
Francis Vierboom, co-founder and co-CEO of Propeller Aero, said that in the past collecting survey data using drones still needed a human surveyor to paint large white crosses on the ground to give the drone a fix.
The smart ground control points can now perform that function, providing the calibration needed to underpin an accurate survey. Data from the ground points can be collected over a wireless network, they are simple one button push operated, and can be left in the field for weeks at a time.
Established in 2014, Propeller Aero has developed a software platform, hosted on the Amazon cloud, for processing drone data. It allows information to be analysed and then displayed through 3D visualisations. Earlier this month it signed a deal with drone maker DJI that it said will create a turnkey solution for mining and construction companies.
While founded in Australia, Propeller has global ambitions – and already only about 30 percent of the company’s revenues come from Australia. It is, however, a good market in which to prove its capabilities according to Vierboom, who said that last month alone the company’s revenues rose 25 percent.
He told iStart that Australia’s resources-led economy, its high cost of labour and scale, made the case for automating surveying and data capture very clear. He said that the Australian surveying and mapping sector was worth $US4 billion, which is particularly significant given that the US market comes to $US7 billion.
The market in Australia could grow even faster following the relaxation of rules surrounding the piloting of drones. Vierboom said that there are currently more than 600 licensed drone pilots operating in Australia. From the end of September however, the rules regarding flying lightweight drones will be relaxed, potentially opening the market to further applications of the technology.
