SAN FRANCISCO,CA – DroneDeploy, a leader in cloud-based drone software, today announced a new solution that addresses drone data portability challenges in remote areas that have Internet bandwidth constraints. DroneDeploy’s new Turbo Uploader makes it exponentially faster for users with slow Internet speeds to upload drone images for processing, while additional improvements increase the speed with which users can load and view maps, and make it faster to export drone data into easy-to-use, industry-standard formats.
The Akamai State of the Internet Report for Q1 2016 found an average global Internet connection speed of 6.3 Mbps, but Internet in rural areas–particularly upload speed–lags far behind. Until now, it could take hours to upload a single drone data set in a remote area, but with the DroneDeploy Turbo Uploader, users can upload their images in a fraction of the time. For example, a typical 30-minute DJI Phantom 4 flight over 160 acres of land captures nearly 1,000 images that can total more than 4 GB of image data. Assuming the global average Internet connection speed of 6.3 Mbps, the data set would typically take at least an hour and a half to upload, but with the Turbo Uploader, it would only take about 10 minutes.
Users in rural areas are very excited about faster uploads. “The improvements in upload speed will make the imagery created much more valuable than we have ever had,” said Jim Love, a DroneDeploy beta tester and Herbicide Specialist at Beck’s Hybrids, a major U.S. independent seed company. Speed isn’t the only consideration. Data upload will also be more cost-effective for overseas users with Internet data caps or who pay based upon data usage.
The key features include:
•Turbo Uploader — improves upload times of drone images by 10x while slightly reducing the mapping resolution; early DroneDeploy beta users in agriculture found that reduced drone map resolution had no impact on their ability to detect crop stress and variability.
•Map loading improvements — users with slow connections may see maps load up to 4 times faster, making it easier to navigate, interact and make measurements on their maps.
•Smaller export file size — exports of GeoTiffs, one of the most common export formats, will now be 4 times smaller without any loss in resolution, making it easier to import them into other standard industry software such as Esri ArcGIS and Ag Leader SMS.
“We’re working with customers worldwide that are leveraging drone maps, such as farmers detecting crop damage and estimate yields, mining facilities monitoring excavation volumes, and oil and gas production companies monitoring environmental compliance,” said Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy. “However, these are often remote locations that find scaling drone operations to be a major challenge given unreliable Internet speeds. We are excited to be the first drone software company to offer a solution for businesses who want the benefits of cloud-based infrastructure, without worrying about data bottlenecks.”
The new features are available now at no additional cost to all DroneDeploy users. For a free trial, visit https://dronedeploy.com/commercial-drone-mapping-software.html. To learn more about how DroneDeploy users in more than 130 countries in different industries are using drones, visit:
•DroneDeploy for Agriculture – https://www.dronedeploy.com/agriculture.html
•DroneDeploy for Mining – https://www.dronedeploy.com/mining.html
•DroneDeploy for Inspection – https://www.dronedeploy.com/inspection.html
•DroneDeploy for Construction – https://www.dronedeploy.com/construction.html
About DroneDeploy
DroneDeploy is the leading cloud software platform for commercial drones, and is making the power of aerial data accessible and productive for everyone. Trusted by leading brands globally, DroneDeploy is transforming the way businesses leverage drones and aerial data across industries, including agriculture, construction, mining, inspection and surveying. Simple by design, DroneDeploy enables professional-grade imagery and analysis, 3D modeling and more from any drone on any device. DroneDeploy users have mapped and analyzed over 6 million acres in over 130 countries. DroneDeploy is located in the heart of San Francisco. To learn more visit www.dronedeploy.com and join the conversation on Twitter @DroneDeploy.
