A Look at Top 3 Drone-based Startup Models for Entrepreneurs

A Look at Drones, Startup and Entrepreneurs

Drones are here to stay and their business applications are growing to fit every kind of industries. Plain and simple. The market seems to think so as well forecasted at reaching $127 billion by 2020. There are a number of businesses that have utilized them for one purpose or another. Entrepreneurs and corporations continue to launch drone-based models aiming to simplify life and boost efficiency and profits. Below we’ve listed the top 3 models that are dramatically changing the world and that may be useful to your enterprise.

Aerial Agriculture Aerial Agriculture LLC, a tech startup founded by undergraduate students in Purdue’s College of Engineering, develop and pilot agricultural drones that can capture specialized images of entire crop fields. The drones, built in-house, stitch images together into maps, which are direct representations of the crop’s health. The technology ultimately reduces input costs and increases farmers’ yields.

 

Agricultural Drones

If you’re not familiar with farming, just imagine having to manage acres of land all by your own. Of course, you might have some helping hands but plowing of the earth is supposed to be hard. In addition, it’s time-consuming and typically a step-by-step process. Scholars from Purdue University launched the startup, Aerial Agriculture LLC, in attempts to reduce farmer’s unneeded output and maximize returns. The engineers have been building drones since middle school and are now creating them to take multispectral images of the landmass. By capturing images based on this color spectrum, users can easily identify the areas that need the most attention. Their cameras then convert the photos into an index enabling farmers to conclude optimal levels of hydrogen and/or fertilizer for the drones to spray. Their concept isn’t new but it’s needed during this time of environmental distress. Yamaha has been experimenting with farm-based drones for decades as well. These flying buggers are also useful for managing livestock. SHEP is the world’s first drone sheepdog which is a whole lot easier than traditional herding. This drone model has the potential to dramatically improve the nation’s farms and food supply.

Universal Purpose Drones

By applying a Universal Device Socket (UDS), drones now have the ability to link with a plethora of electronic equipment. This provides a clear path of communication between drone and device. xCraft has launched the first drone startup that uses your smart device as a camera, GPS and processor of the vehicle. Known as the PhoneDrone Ethos, the aircraft easily attaches to any smartphone offering shockproof and waterproof protection. But that’s not all when it comes to universal application. Imagine a drone being linked to power tools to repair a communications tower. Or consider a drone passing by and automatically updating your regional apps. The UDS makes the options virtually limitless!

Drones for Sports & Entertainment

Aibotix is not just a clever name. They utilize AI with robotic technology to enhance productivity and increase accuracy. They supported Germany’s largest bike race, Bayern Rundfarht (Tour of Bavaria) with aerial images, mapping, 3D animation and tracking in real time. This is done by strapping a GNSS receiver onto a vehicle that locates the coordinates of the racers. These statistics are then displayed on an online atlas so fans can stay up to date on the race. Could you imagine if this concept was used in popular sports such as the NFL or NBA for accurate calls and player stats? Drones could glide along the field and monitor designated areas. On another note, Ireland recently held an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. Aibotix helped produce a 3D motion light show illustrating the historical background of the Titanic. Engineers crafted a highly accurate 3D model of the ship and it took about 3 weeks to complete. This technology would be perfect for drones involved in celebrations, concerts, and festivals. In addition, the drones could help organizers determine the number of visitors and other analytics.
How would you use drones to improve your business?

If you’ve been considering getting into the drone business, these top three models seem the most promising for the future.


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