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V O L . X X I V N O. I V F E B R UA R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8 16 comprehensively and safely versus walk-throughs. ey deployed a UAV from the roadside, flew it over the stand, and could judge factors like ter- rain, proximity to wetlands and harvest operations. Other projects will use the lab's UAS-flown imagery and process- ing techniques to develop habitat maps for wildlife conservation. "We're seeing a surge of interest in forestry and natural resources," says Sandilands. "People are taking notice and saying UAVs will make things easier." Enhanced accuracy Drones are great for road surveys, says David Price, co-founder of the Association of Professional Drone Pilots in Massachusetts. For engineering firm Greenman-Pedersen Inc., Price flew a drone to survey Commercial Street in Portland. "One of the coolest applications for drones in commercial work is making orthophotos," he says. "e drone is pre-programmed to fly a grid mission and it takes a bunch of down- ward-facing photos. e cool part is, each photo is geo-tagged — embed- ded in the photo is latitude, longitude and height. With simple software, you stitch the pictures together and you have a huge high-definition photo of the area. e accuracy level can be plus or minus an inch. And if you have a survey crew go out before- hand to mark the ground, you can tie the photos to that and get accuracies to the centimeter. So the drone can enhance a surveyor's work for a frac- tion of the cost." Drone use is gaining currency, says Price. "In 2016 and 2017, people would say to me, 'Ooh, that's a drone!' Now people are saying, 'is is what I need a drone for.' I feel like 2018 will be the year of realization with drones. People are really going to start seeing how drones can help with different types of jobs." at interest could create difficul- ties, though. Areas of concern, Price says, include the potential for midair collisions with planes and helicopters, as well as unlicensed commercial pilots and unregistered drones that make them difficult to track. Others mention the possibility of failing equipment, incorrectly pre-programmed flight data, and drones flown beyond line of sight. All agree that education of drone operators is key. Pilot training To that end, the University of Maine at Augusta's UAS Pilot Training Center, Maine's first university-level UAS course, started October 2016 and has trained about 130 new drone pilots. e center's Tom Abbott and Daniel Leclair, project manager and program coordinator respectively, see burgeoning interest among commercial sectors. "e students vary widely, from different professions — businesses and government agencies that are now starting to use drones on a day-to-day basis," says Abbott. e program initially attracted most interest from realtors interested in pho- tographing from on high houses they were selling. Others include professional photographers and land managers. "We've had folks who manage offshore islands, off Maine, and use drones to 'tour' the property to see what's washed up onshore and where they need to repair things," Abbott says. Newly minted drone pilots survey roads and crops; do precision agricultural spray- ing of fertilizer and pesticide; and aid accident investigations. New pilots are even starting businesses to offer drone services to other businesses. Abbott predicts that package delivery by drone will soon come to Maine, to address "last mile" rural roads: "UPS might hook a package to a drone, send the drone up to deliver it, then the drone will catch up with the truck in the next village." He adds, "It's widespread and it's get- ting bigger by the day." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E As drone usage grows, regulations are growing, too FAA REGULATIONS Pilots must be FAA-certified Drone must be registered Fly at or below 400 feet Keep drone within pilot's line of sight Fly only during daylight or civil twilight Don't fly near other aircraft or in controlled air- space near airports without FAA permission Never fly over groups of people, public events, or stadiums full of people Never fly near emergencies such as fires or hur- ricane recovery efforts Never fly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. MAINE STATE LAW Regulates only law enforcement UAV use Operated in compliance with FAA standards, UAVs may be used for criminal investigations, search and rescue, aerial photography for the accident assessment, and more. The law prohibits UAV weaponization and unlawful surveillance. S O U R C E : Federal Aviation Administration, Maine Revisor's Office F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY People are really going to start seeing how drones can help with different types of jobs. — David Price Association of Professional Drone Pilots Peter Anania, left, a partner at Fluent IMC, demonstrates the marketing firm's drone at the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook. With him are Bryan Roche, PR and digital strategist, and Marnie Grumbach, founder and partner at the firm.

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