economics of small uas in a gis business practice

1|Copyright 2014 – Drone Analyst

THE ECONOMICS OF AN SUAS BUSINESS PRACTICE

An overview of business models and what it takes to be profitable

UAS Mapping 2014 Reno

October 21, 2014

Presented by:

Colin Snow

CEO and Founder


Research

Not again!

Source: @QuantamPirate


Topics 1. Evaluation and integration planning

2. UAS ‘system’

3. Aircraft

4. ROI case study: measuring stockpiles

Can I make money?

If so, how much?


Enterprise planning 1. Have a clear business case

2. Introduce governance and stakeholder management

3. Anticipate problems

4. Draw up a solid business change program

User adoption Review practices Training Immediate coaching post implementation Review the measures and metrics

5. Partner with an implementation expert


What’s your plan? 1. Concept – define the mission and an enterprise solution

2. Requirements – perform financial assessments, develop RFP

3. Acquisition – build, buy, lease?

4. Integration – define the business process, data engineering, testing, and training

5. Production – deploy and manage feedback requirements

6. Maintenance – manage operations and the asset life-cycle

Concept

Requirements

AcquisitionIntegration

Production

Maintenance

Start here


Business process

Specifies area, flight time, resolution

Site analysis, Route and waypoints,

Weather check

Map over X km2, Download

images and telemetry file

Load into software, Generate

point-cloud measurements

Send files ftp or cloud app

Customer Demand

Mission Planning

Flight Processing Delivery


UAS ‘system’ considerations

1. Aircraft (see example next slide)

2. Sensor / payload

3. Ground control station

4. Communication systems

5. Pilot and crew

6. RegulationsSafety

Operational risk

System deployment risk

Privacy / data management

Security


Multirotor


Fixed wing


Aircraft comparison

CATEGORY MULTIROTOR FIXED WING

Types Quadcopter, Hexacopter, Octocopter, Y-6, X-8

Small, Mid-size

Features VTOL Hand launch, ground launcher

Construction Aluminum, carbon fiber, plastic Wood, foam, carbon fiber, plastic, fiberglass

Propulsion Electric Electric, liquid fuel

Advantages Portability Range

Size 14 – 45” 30 – 106”

Weight (+ payload) < 25 lbs. < 15 lbs.

Cost rangeRTF Model: $1 – $10K RTF Model: $1.5 - $5K

Enterprise: $15K - $60K Enterprise: $12 - $60K


Limitations Most aircraft are not waterproof

Operate properly in winds speeds below 20 knots

Battery range; maximum 40 minutes aloft

Little or no onboard computer operating capacity

400 ft. max, VLOS, regulations pending


Case study

Subsidiary of Noble Group

Frances Creek Mine, Northern Territory, Australia

Haematite Iron Ore - 1.6 Million tons per acre

Product Railed 180 KM to Darwin for Shipping

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/informaoz/darryn-dow

http://www.slideshare.net/informaoz/darryn-dow


Product pad




Return Platform selection - Multirotor vs. Fixed Wing

Autonomous flight preference

Initial quotations varied between AU $45K -$100K

Comparison - GPS Rover – AU $50K, Scanner - $240k

Cost of purchase, training, certification – AU $57K

Cost benefit – EOM reduced from 100 to 12 hours

Return on investment – 10 months




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