Drone Usage in Real Estate Poised to Take Off

More commercial and real estate brokers are seeing the competitive advantages of using drones in their business.

The use of drones to market commercial and residential real estate may be in its infancy but industry observers believe use of the technology as a competitive tool is on the verge of taking off.

The most obvious use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS), or drone, is to create new ways to market a property.

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Drone Photography is "Taking Off" in Real Estate

Drone photography is growing fast in the real estate industry, fueling a new form of digital advertising for agents and sellers. And while the trend is national, the tech-obsessed Bay Area may well be its ground zero as agents try to stand out from the competition in a famously hot market.

"It gives them a leg up," said Walton, who uses his remote-controlled flying machines to shoot the cool videos that prospective buyers have come to expect -- the tech types and foreign investors who won't make a move toward purchasing a house without first inspecting it online.

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Drone Captures Humpback Whale and Calf Off the Coast of Maui

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary today released rare video, taken with a drone, showing a humpback whale with its tail out of the water, seemingly catching the wind like a sail.

In the video, a humpback mother and calf are observed swimming and diving in the sanctuary off Maui’s leeward coast last month. At one point, the mother appears to be doing a headstand and drifting with her tail out of the water.

Scientists said tail-sailing is fairly common among southern right whales but has rarely been observed or documented among humpbacks.

There are strict regulations for the approach of whales and untrained public use of unmanned aerial equipment near wildlife. The drones in the Hawaii test were operated by trained professionals under approved NOAA and FAA permits, and the staging vessel was kept 100 yards away from the whales at all times.

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New Boss on Construction Sites Is a Drone

Many in the construction industry are finding drones and UAVs can play a vital role in their work. Whether they’re used for surveying, to show clients and potential clients an aerial overview of completed projects, to monitor jobsites to ensure safe practices or to inspect bridges and other structures, drones have the potential to become as important a tool to the industry as any piece of yellow iron.

Drone That Can Map The World In 3-D

Drones in the past few years have become essential tools for many industries, including film, agriculture, and security.

And each year those industries want drones with increasingly broad capabilities, which is why 3D Robotics, Sony, and Autodesk have teamed up to create a drone that can capture video and rapidly convert that footage into 3-D maps of an area, The Verge reports.

3D Robotics says that it has plans to move way beyond 3-D mapping. The company says it plans to introduce a multispectral and thermal camera, which would allow agricultural sites, chemical plants, and oil rigs to scan materials from the air.