Launching a drone program is hard. Growing past the startup phase can be even harder. There are so many factors to consider, whether you’re looking at budget, personnel, equipment, systems, policies, or the many other factors that come up as you begin actively flying missions. One of the primary challenges we hear about is expertise. You really want a drone expert on your team — not only a skilled pilot, but someone who understands the ins and outs of the regulations. Even better if it’s someone who’s gone through all this before. But where can you find experienced personnel like this? And wha ..read more

Choosing which aircraft are best for your business’s drone program can be confusing. After all, there are a lot of factors to consider! Here’s a quick primer on a few things to think about when expanding or updating your fleet to get the best bang for the buck.  Start with data considerations Drones are basically data collection systems. Since data is your end product, start by clearly defining all the results you want your drone to get — then work backwards. Do you need to capture aerial survey grids to generate 2D maps? Thermal imagery to visualize hotspots in energy systems? High-defin ..read more

Nine months ago, the FAA established an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to make recommendations on regulations that would facilitate the operation of drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the drone pilot. Verizon/Skyward was invited to be a member, along with several companies, non-profits, and associations representing a range of aviation interests, including drone manufacturers, test sites, drone delivery companies, and crewed aviation interests. On March 10, the ARC published its final report, setting forth its analysis of the current regulatory framework for drones and reco ..read more

News organizations, sports broadcasters, ad agencies, filmmakers, and other media companies have flocked toward drones in order to get aerial views a lot more safely and cheaply. But collecting bird’s-eye footage and economizing on the cost of helicopters are only the beginning. The benefits of drone adoption just keep expanding for these sectors. Aerial robotics technology opens up access to places that used to be off limits, from the streets of San Francisco early in the COVID pandemic to close-up looks through the canopy of rainforests. It enables new viewing angles and shots. It’s bringing ..read more

Recently, the world’s leading trade association for the advancement of drones and robotics, known as AUVSI, made a small change that represents a big step. This nonprofit organization rebranded as the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. It’s a simple switch of two words: “Uncrewed” for what used to be “Unmanned.” AUVSI stated that their goal in this change is to “reflect ongoing efforts to promote gender inclusivity” by “dropping the word ‘unmanned’ and other gender-specific terms in its name, governing documents, and association language.” This builds upon recommendations ..read more

I always love getting to talk about the ways we continue to build the Skyward platform to meet more and more customer needs. We love to see how customers are putting drones to work in Construction & Engineering, as well as in Energy & Utilities, Media & Broadcast, and so many other industries. In February 2022, we made a few software updates to improve quality of life on both the Skyward web platform and the Skyward InFlight mobile app. We’ve designed these changes to help customers continue to drive more value from their drone programs. Check them out! New user profile page for dr ..read more

As a flight instructor, I get to play two very different roles. A couple times a year, I’m a flight instructor for military pilots. The rest of the time, I work as a Skyward trainer, which gives me the chance to train brand new corporate drone pilots — some of whom have no background in aviation and have never laid hands on the control sticks of a drone. On one hand, teaching businesspeople how to fly drones is a very different experience from the UAS training courses I provide for military personnel. On the other hand, there’s plenty of crossover when it comes to safety, compliance, and consi ..read more

The ongoing shift to remote work and high competition for labor have Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) firms of all sizes taking a fresh look at how to digitize operations. They’re streamlining workflows with more efficient equipment and materials management. They’re using virtual tools to effectively collaborate at a distance. And they’re looking to improve safety with automation. Data collected by drones is helping with all of these things. Here are a few ways the AEC sector is using aerial intel to speed up decisions, automate processes, and reduce costs. (As always, please n ..read more

Drone imaging in agriculture applications can encompass a wide variety of specific applications. From simply monitoring for bare soil where nothing is growing, to looking for leaks in irrigation systems, to keeping an eye on water rights.  But multispectral imaging lets drone operators evaluate actual crop health based on how the crops are absorbing or rejecting different wavebands of light energy. The intensities of this absorption and rejection can be quantified in NDVI, or normalized difference vegetative index, imaging.   A little about light: How multispectral imaging works ..read more

We’re already a whole month into the new year, and 2022 has started off with a bang. We’re working on some big features that we can’t wait to show you! And we’re looking forward to putting Parrot ANAFI Ai drones in our customers’ hands in the near future so we can see how they put these new aircraft to work on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. (It’s not too late to preorder yours today!) While we’re hard at work on those innovations, here are a few of the new features we dropped in January 2022. Project Areas in Skyward Mapping & Modeling Skyward Mapping & Modeling enables customers to turn th ..read more