National Drones

16/03/2022

Want to know what is involved in a Thermal Inspection of a Solar Farm? 👇👇👇

Recently our team was on site, to capture thermal and RGB imagery over two sites with a combined 440,000 solar panels between them.

To cover an area of this size requires our team and drones operating for 10 days (5 days at each location). This doesn't include changes to schedule such as weather delays, or times when cloud cover rolls in dropping irradiance levels to below optimum for capture. ⛅⛅

Data and battery management becomes important on operations of this size. Our operations trailer (with dual TV's, air conditioning and drinks fridge!) becomes our base station and greatly assists in this process.

These flights are carefully planned, and significant time and energy goes into the flight planning component, to ensure coverage of the entire site, with no gaps.

The data is then passed over for review to identify any defects that need rectification.

📷 - Approximately 75,000 images per site, between thermal and RGB.
🕛 - 10 days in the field to capture - without interruptions
🔋- Approximately 180 battery changes

23/12/2021

As 2021 comes to a close we wanted to thank our trusted clients, partners and students for their support. Wishing you all the best during the festive season.

18/11/2021

Onsite in the NSW outback inspecting a guy wired broadcast tower. Perfect weather for it.

17/11/2021

Nothing like the team's excitement when new drones are added to the National Drones fleet. DJI Matrice 300

29/10/2021

The team have been working hard on developing a modified 1200mm wingspan COTS platform to test and understand VTOL (vertical take off and landing) technologies and operational procedures. Real time telemetry and video was cast over the 4G network with minimal latency over a distance of 1,800km from Melbourne to Brisbane. This technology is looking promising to integrate into the existing fleet of drones we can utilise in high quality data capture for our clients.

18/10/2021

Traffic monitoring project in regional Victoria Our eyes in the sky for Victoria Roads & Transport.

28/09/2021

Our work site for the day. Far north Queensland looking stunning.

14/09/2021

It never ceases to amaze us what can be captured by drones. These images are simply breathtaking. Check out the winners of the Drone Awards 2021

Photographers from around the world are awarded for their striking use of drone technology to produce stunning aerial images for the Drone Awards 2021.

13/09/2021

Drone being used to complete a compliance survey for a quarry in Victoria as part of the pre-sale requirements. The data collected will be overlaid with surface lease and environmental requirements, and under go an EPA review as part of the conveyancing prior to sale.

03/09/2021

Take a peak at our new 25v electric fixed wing aircraft in motion, the Believer. With a flight time of 3 hours, dual camera operations, and PPK GPS positioning, this aircraft is a welcome addition to our fleet of drones.

09/12/2020

M210 V2 going to work on some broadcast towers over the past 2 days

17/09/2020

Ever had the feeling someone is watching you while you work? Probably wondering what a Matrice M210 tastes like!!!! Spotted him while doing a broadcast tower inspection and providing detailed reports to our client.

16/04/2020

Vertical inspection of assets has its challenges. 220 metre tower for one of our clients captured and visualised in our Smartdata software.

I am sure you will agree it has never been a better time to see things from a different perspective. Here is our team onsite this week inspecting a 200m+ tower with our specially designed flight methodology for one of our broadcast clients. The data can be viewed in our software, SmartData allowing users to assess & review the tower in high resolution detail and share with internal team members.

25/02/2020

Where once inspections of infrastructure required significant manpower, time and finances, drones now provide engineers, infrastructure construction and building operations/facilities management organisations with access to highly detailed imagery and data about their projects quickly and cost-effectively.

There are two key areas where drone inspections are having an impact: data collection, and the capacity of the software for data interpretation and analysis

Drone inspections have the capacity to add great value in the engineering, building maintenance, facilities management & critical asset management field.

19/02/2020

Efficient, safe and accurate method of assessing the condition of your solar assets both thermally and in RGB. Can be annotated and shared with contractors for both work orders and tendering purposes. Message me for more info.

05/12/2019

Want to understand how Drones can help manage your assets and save you time and money at the same time. Read our latest blog post in the link below. If there is something in there that peaks your interest pm us for a consultation.

Drone Inspections for Power And Utilities have major benefits and cost savings for Power & Utility companies

14/09/2019

30/08/2019

Top 20 Drone Service Providers Globally has just been released.
Only 2 Aussie companies have made the list and National Drones is one of them:
This infographic provides a ranking of the top 20 DSPs in the world according to company size, market shares and public attention. It captures significant changes in the industry in terms of both dominant players and also dominant application methods employed by service providers