In 2018, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) companies are reaching far beyond the standards of drone commercialization and transforming these vehicles into all-encompassing industry solutions. It is now a virtual space race between entrepreneurs and engineers to create and distribute the most efficient, inexpensive, and lightweight drone solutions to consumers and businesses—an important shift in interest from single-function drones and manned aerial vehicles. Leading the way in the drone solution industry is Microdrones, a multi-industry solutions-based UAV Company. MarketScale had the opportunity to speak with Marketing Director Mike Dziok to discuss the breakthroughs in drone systems, from innovations to future advancements within the company and its impact throughout the drone industry.
The products and solutions Microdrones is developing benefit a plethora of industries and business owners by integrating the latest in sensory, laser, and data collection technology into their fleet of UAVs. These developments are indicative of a larger market trend that is constantly searching for new ways to enhance drone technology, according to Dziok.
“No one is buying just a drone for professional grade work. They are buying a fully integrated system and need one company that can provide the full package: aircraft, perfectly integrated sensors, software, workflow, training, support,” Dziok said.
That kind of forward thinking led to Microdrones’ developing drone solutions that have been impactful throughout global industries—providing greater efficiency and accuracy in a variety of applications, ranging from construction surveying to methane gas detection.
The future of drone solutions is filled with new ideas and new technologies. One of those new technologies being incorporated in Microdrones’ products is LiDar. LiDar, a semi-acronym for Light Detection and Ranging, is, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure range… to the Earth. These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system—generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.” LiDar technology has long been used for examining terrain, but more recently it has proved as a valuable technology in the autonomous vehicle, police, and drone industries.
Microdrones’ first foray into LiDar technology was the development of the mdLiDar 1000, an end-to-end drone solution that encompasses every aspect of mapping, monitoring, and management utilizing cloud-based technology to process and interpret the data quickly and precisely. Part of what makes Microdrones different is their attention to not only product quality, but product impact on a customer’s business—and Dziok perfectly articulates that difference.
“Plan, Fly, Process, Visualize. So we’re not just talking about the drone… not just the drone and sensor… but also the integrated workflow and software that ties it all together and makes life easy for the professional,” he said.
The drone market has serious growth potential. An industry already familiar with UAV technology, construction is a match made in heaven for drone companies. With aerial mapping and many other applications continuing to evolve, Dziok is enthusiastic about the future.
“Drones are a natural fit, both from a safety and efficiency standpoint, and also from an investment standpoint. Gains in efficiency are so strong, that they outweigh the investment cost for a typical surveyor, land development or construction firm.” Dziok said.
Learn more about Microdrones here.
