Technology Alert: Drones on the Horizon
America is built on innovative technology. Organizations that recognize important tech trends and act on them quickly can generate impressive results and get a leg up on the competition.
Enter the Drones
Previously, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), were limited to military use. While it is true that drone usage has been around for decades, new commercial applications for the technology are brand new.
Operators are recognizing an important technological trend early in its lifecycle. Drones are expected to play a critical role in economic recovery, as modern-day problems like touchless delivery options increase in importance.
Drone technology is about to explode with various applications, including the following:
- Law enforcement tracking and surveillance
- Package delivery
- Agriculture, seeding and spraying
- Surveying land in hard to reach areas
- Aerial photography, such as in filming for TV and real estate companies
- Emergency rescue and disaster efforts
There has been an uptick in the interest in drone technology from companies that do a large volume of shipping, like Amazon, and UAVs are increasingly being used in several large commercial endeavors.
Drone Applications in Everyday Life
Agricultural drones are heralded for being an economic solution for monitoring crops, fields, and livestock. The number of big industrial agricultural firms utilizing drones is increasing daily. Inaccessible terrain, mountaintops, and swamps unfit for humans can be explored through the use of drones.
In news journalism, instead of camera crews, drones equipped with cameras can capture live news events without putting employees in harm’s way, and provide much more detail and context than cameras on the ground are able to.
UAVs to the Rescue During Natural Disasters
Drones were instrumental in recovery efforts following Hurricane Dorian. UAVs have unique abilities, like infrared cameras that can be used in search missions and can even be sent into the eye of a storm to measure its intensity. During times of crisis, they can fly into hot zones where inclement weather, collapsing buildings, or other unstable conditions make it too dangerous for human interaction.
How UAVs Help Environmental Conservation Efforts
Drone usage is becoming ubiquitous in the construction industry, especially in roof or solar panel inspections. When a roofing system is unstable, a drone can safely fly above the structure and, using infrared cameras, quickly determine any weak points and relay the information back to the user in real-time.
In agriculture, aerial crop spraying with UAVs increases efficiency and reduces the amount of chemicals leaching into groundwater. Special light-detection and ranging, or LiDAR, enables these unmanned flying robots to adjust altitude as necessary and spray scientifically exact amounts of liquids for even distribution without disturbing the soil, which can result in run-off. The result? Spraying is accomplished as much as five times faster.
Drone Usage in the Legal Profession
There are currently 347 law enforcement agencies in 43 states that have begun using UAVs to assist officers in the field. Police use drones for analysis of crime scenes, criminal apprehension, investigating active shooter incidents, monitoring crowds and surveillance. Accident reconstruction is a major element of many personal injury cases. Drones with cameras are valuable because they provide a bird’s eye view of the crime scene that is otherwise inaccessible.
Technological advancements are changing the way business is conducted, and the legal profession is no exception. Whether you think you have a personal injury case and need accident reconstruction from a law firm in Indianapolis or are anywhere in the US, the latest advancements such as UAVs, dash cams, and smart cars can be utilized to help your lawyer win your case.
