DroneBase and DroneDeploy Partner to Provide Businesses Affordable Aerial Data-Gathering
Two drone-tech companies joined forces to help businesses expand using software and data processing while performing drone missions.
DroneBase and DroneDeploy are partnering. While the former has a reputable history of successful commercial drone missions for aerial data gathering, the latter has developed a cloud platform specifically designed to process said data. By becoming allies, DroneDeploy intends to offer businesses the opportunity to plan and execute drone missions with real-time data insights and flights operated by certified DroneBase pilots. For example, an agricultural business in need of aerial data to assess how crops are growing, could request a flight through this on-demand service, have it professionally piloted, and then use the collected aerial data to maximize business efficiency.
According to the press release, this partnership essentially provides immediate high-resolution aerial data to customers. We’ve reported on this modern need before, with even largely consumer-based drone companies like Parrot focusing on unmanned aerial vehicles targeted at both agriculture and construction industries. The chance to conduct surveys of farmland in the winter through modern drone tech, too, is being considered by many to be a boon to the industry.
“The future of drones is automation, but until drones can execute a planned flight without any human supervision, we need a simple solution that helps businesses of any size integrate drones into their workflows,” said Mike Winn, CEO of DroneDeploy. “We’re proud to integrate DroneBase to make accessing aerial insights much easier—democraticizing data for small businesses and enterprises alike.”
As the press release makes sure to reinforce, DroneBase has the most expansive and qualified commercial drone pilot network on the market. Additionally, the $99 cost to request a drone mission, operated by a certified pilot, really does seem like a superior option to any realistic alternatives. Within the DroneDeploy platform, the "Drone on Demand" app allows users to access the collected data such as photos, maps, and 3-D models within a 72-hour turnaround time. Pretty impressive for such a purported all-encompassing service.
"Many enterprise customers have seen the value in drone data, but have no idea how to scale that solution out to all of their assets, properties, and worksites in an ROI-positive way," Dan Burton, CEO and co-founder of DroneBase told The Drive. "With [100,000-plus] flights completed across all 50 states and 70 countries, DroneBase is excited to bring enterprise drone operations to DroneDeploy's scalable analytics platform so that enterprises can add drone data to their workflow by just pushing a button."
In terms of this new alliance, Burton claims commercial clients will have a greater opportunity to grow. “Through our partnership with DroneDeploy, we will allow a wider range of businesses to unlock the power of drone insights," said Burton.
The significance of this partnership lies in the harsh truth that any business wishing to conduct the same kind of mission described above currently has to buy insurance, train a pilot or hire one, buy the hardware or rent it, and so on. With DroneDeploy’s Drone on Demand app, DroneBase’s pilot network, and the cloud platform that processes the data, you’re essentially getting all of the above done for $99 per mission. If that isn’t a step in the right direction in regards to advancing the commercial drone data-gathering industry, we’re not sure what is.
