Aerial Photography

A new view for Home Inspections?

UAV or Aerial photography, it’s a new and upcoming technology and one that’s hard to ignore for any industry, and as a Real Estate Inspector looking at homes and commercial buildings, it’s almost impossible for me to ignore. This technology is new and there are a number of rules and considerations to consider, and at the top of the list is safety. I feel that keeping your device where you can see it, also known as Line of Sight or LOS is of utmost consideration. Where I see videos and pictures taken close to people, I can’t help but to kind of sigh, and think “Why”. Why take the risk to injure someone?

I think that the way is being paved now, for example my device is preset to

• Not fly more than 400 feet up (again, safety first.. and the FAA urges to keep this as a maximum)
• Return to Home if connection is lost, again for safety. There is also a “button” that can be pressed to allow device to return to home. “Home” is a preset place or map mark that the device/UAV configures before take off. Safe flight is achieved by allowing device to receive signals from a minimum number of satellites and the device will configure, and accurately where it has taken off from, so as to define a place for device to land, in case of broken connection, low battery etc.
• Use a visual positioning system. While I’m not sure about this for my particular uses, the device uses a combination of an on board camera and ultrasonic sensors to provide a safe method to fly indoors. Pretty darn neat!
• Stay away from Aircraft and airports. The mapping system and the device’s application keep the UAV a minimum distance from airports and as mentioned above, not to fly so high as to present a risk to other aircraft.
• More about the devices features here http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3/feature

So to recap, I think the technology is awesome, and while there are still some questions… responsible use and keeping sight of safety and your device keeps everyone happy.