Drones For Work Food For Thought For the New Customer Considering Drone Services Lee Badman President, Wirednot, LLC

What you should be thinking about Why drones? Why commercial drone pilots? Use cases Basic deliverables when drones are used Advanced deliverables Not all drones, pilots are interchangeable

So… why drones? The “eye in the sky” can cover a lot of ground fast Safety (see roofs, chimneys, towers without climbing) Get a high-resolution camera in strategic places Record video, take photographs Gather information, intelligence Act as a workforce-multiplier

In other words, it’s a tool.

Why commercial drone pilots? Depending on where the drone operations will take place, understanding the airspace system (where other aircraft operate) is crucial Safety, liability- yours and theirs Through experience comes skill, safety record Can legally operate where hobbyists can’t Higher quality work (hopefully) Insured (hopefully) Better depth of equipment (hopefully)

The Federal Aviation Administration has certified me as a Remote Pilot after I passed a fairly rigorous exam.

Use cases Agriculture Security Building, facility inspection Site views Flood monitoring Event recording Real estate Anything you can dream up

Basic deliverables from drones in the field Quick-turnaround raw footage Quick-turnaround photos Can be accessed online or delivered as files on transportable media Good pilots will also have ground-camera on hand as well, different zoom capabilities to accent drone work where applicable 15-25 minute flight times per battery Manual or basic programming of flights

Advanced deliverable$ Highly edited photos and videos suitable for commercial use “Stitching” multiple images into specialty map Exceptions requested to FAA for flying in restricted areas Thermal imaging/sensing Dropping of payloads Longer flight times per battery More advanced programmed flights

Not all drones, pilots are interchangeable A good pilot with an average drone is better than a bad pilot with the best drone available Many (but far from all) consumer-grade drones do well in commercial applications. There are drones out there that run $25K or better! Better pilots or drone-based companies have multiple drones, controllers, batteries for every job Applications like thermal imaging take a different grade of drone versus video/photography Some pilots are better businesspeople than others- the technical side is only part of the equation

In closing… A good drone pilot or service rep will help you decide the specifics of what you need for drone services Beware the drone services provider who promises everything For occasional or rare drone services, there are many companies with pools of pilots hungry for work, but you are dealing with strangers For frequent drone services, develop a relationship with a pilot or company you can rely on Make sure the terms of the services engagement are well- documented for everyone’s protection

Thank you for your time. Lee Badman wirednomore@gmail.com