From the ground of Industrial UAV Expo in Las Vegas this morning, a panel on drones and AI – and what latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology mean for the industrial drone industry.
Moderated by Drone Industry Insights‘ Kay Wackwitz, the panel featured quite a lot of stakeholders: Brandon Groves from drone manufacturer Skydio, Barrit Lovelace from drone users and stakeholders Collins Engineers, and Travis Mason from automated pilot software provider Merlin Labs.
“We want to debate not only the ‘wow’ factor of AI, however the ‘how’ factor,” said Wackwitz.
What’s AI for Your Business?
Within the context of the drone industry, AI is a buzzword used to explain all the things from flight planning to data evaluation. Skydio’s Brandon Groves had an eloquent description of what AI means to the manufacturer, known for its autonomy platform.
“AI is a collection of technologies that allow computers and machines to perform tasks previously reserved for humans,” said Groves. “When it really works, it really seems like magic. AI really is magical… but it surely’s also becoming real.”
In its first phase, Groves explained, AI is a tool for processing information: exemplified by tools like ChatGPT. “In phase 2, AI jumps off the page and into the true world, through robotics. AI moves beyond a tool, and becomes a teammate.” AI makes complex technology easy – and more available to more users, Groves said.
For Travis Mason, AI enables the collaboration between human and technology, leveraging the skills of each. “The vastness of this technology and the vastness of it’s capability is basically beautiful,” said Mason. “This can be a big technology that can have a number of impact. At Merlin Labs, we’re seeking to construct a pilot – just not a human one. We would like to mimic the human capabilities and performance of a pilot – and it might sound crazy, but to this point, aviation has done this thoroughly.”
For Barrit, AI has made workflows easier. “We’re using AI for our day by day work. For us, it’s immediately.” Collins Engineers uses the Skydio autonomous platform, with Skydio’s 3D scan digital twin platform. “Flying a drone in traffic and around bridges was stressful,” said Barrit. “Now we’re bored. We’re just waiting for the drone to complete flying itself. ”
With AI-powered data evaluation, the technology has replaced hours of tedious manual work. “AI is capable of find features, things that we used to should search for with our eyes. That is transformational… engineers don’t go to highschool for 4 years to face out in a field and draw cracks. Engineers must be making decisions about what to do in regards to the cracks,” said Barrit.
The Bottom Line: What’s the Value?
As day by day users of drone technology, Barrit says that the worth of AI is evident. “We are able to show cost savings, and sometimes those may be significant,” said Barrit. While those cost savings matter, AI enables a greater quality of ends in some ways. “Whenever you create a digitial twin, it’s easier to share. For instance, once we do quality control in engineering, we would like two independent calculations. Performing two surveys is cost prohibitive. Now, we will create the digitial twin, and still have field survey…we’ve got true quality control.”
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