NOTE: various details of the following Case Study have been removed, due to commercial sensitivities. Upon request, further details may be provided upon approval by the client, and the signing of an NDA.

 

ASEV – Consultancy. ASEV initially approached me to ask if it was possible to visually map a particular type of soil property in real time, for a particular geographic area of interest, by using a drone paired with a thermal camera (Disclaimer: ASEV already knew that I owned a drone and a high-end thermal camera, and that I had the capability to produce highly accurate thermal orthomaps from this).

 

We met and discussed the aims of the project in more detail. I couldn’t answer all of ASEV’s questions there and then, but took an open mind and started researching all the possibilities. I looked at vegetation index maps such as NDVI, NDRE, etc, thermal inertia methods, and other new technologies, to determine whether any of these could meet my client’s rather unique objectives.

 

I came to the conclusion that visually mapping this particular type of soil property in real time was a relatively unexplored area, with no proven applications of technology in widespread use, so needed specialist input. I researched even more widely, and found an eminent local Professor that was one of the leading experts in the world, with very specific, highly relevant experience in this field.

 

I contacted the Professor and asked if he could help me, and he agreed. I then prepared a detailed list of very specific questions and met with the Professor. This meeting ultimately led to more specific questions and more research on my part. I then arranged for the Professor to produce consultancy quotes to assist ASEV with highly technical aspects of various scenarios that I specified.

 

I arranged another meeting between the Professor, ASEV, and myself, with the Professor’s logistics assistant and his appointed Research Fellow also participating. The discussion was guided by myself, and ultimately led to ASEV stating that all their questions had been answered.

 

Ultimately, I recommended that vegetation index maps and thermal methods were not the ideal technologies for the application that ASEV had in mind (in spite of the fact that this decision eliminated the possibility of using my own drone services for this application).

 

ASEV are now waiting to trial a new, one-off, custom-built drone and payload (expected to arrive early 2022) that will utilize cutting-edge new technology. The drone and payload are estimated to cost $300,000! It is planned that this equipment will be leased back to ASEV.

 

Client Testimonial:

“I was impressed by the way that Peter was able to articulate the different pathways that the project was able to proceed, based on the mountains of information gathered. It was a structured, logical approach, that, when presented back to stakeholders, revealed a clear way forward.

 

I found that Peter acted professionally and with a level of transparency that made it very easy to deal with him. Certainly exceeded my expectations. Thanks Peter.”

 

Vince Chiodo,

Managing Director,

Aerial Sports and Entertainment Vision (ASEV).

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