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Takeaway:<\/strong> Being locked into a singular drone or a drone ecosystem is often inadequate for comprehensive surveying, O&M, and marketing needs\u2014and you typically pay more. Instead, work with a platform like Scanifly that integrates with any drone (i.e. drone agnostic), enabling you to select the right model, price point, and feature set for your business.<\/p>\n Drones are an increasingly popular tool in the solar industry, with nearly 40%<\/a> of solar professionals having flown one.<\/p>\n While the most common use case<\/a> for drones is taking pictures of completed projects for marketing purposes, drones have valuable applications for both surveying and O&M<\/a> as well. In order to leverage drones in a way that makes sense for your<\/em> organization, you need optionality to choose the right drone hardware.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, some solar platforms force you to use specific drones with their software rather than building a drone-agnostic tool. Here’s why that is risky, limiting, and costs way more than needed.<\/p>\n Drone manufacturers discontinue drone models \u2014 just look at the Mavic 2 Pro<\/a>. It was launched in 2018 and became one of DJI’s most popular drones. But it was discontinued three years later in 2021 once the Mavic 3 was introduced.<\/p>\n Contractors forced to use this drone are stuck buying second-hand, refurbished drones, often with parts \u201cFrankensteined\u201d together. In this case, we do not recommend trusting the specs, as any adjustment to sensors or firmware could notably distort a photogrammetry process<\/a> that relies on geocoding and other parts of a drone’s hardware stack. On top of that, the manufacturer doesn\u2019t honor any warranties or recalls.<\/p>\n There’s a reason the drone is not supported anymore, as better technology exists or the drone may be troublesome to keep up.<\/p>\n When a platform requires you to buy their drone, you\u2019re stuck paying whatever they charge.<\/p>\n For example, some locked-in platforms charge as much as $4,000 for their drones. Meanwhile, drones used for Scanifly or photogrammetry processes can cost as little as $600 all-in. For about $2,000, you can get a powerful drone with obstacle-avoidance features and high-end batteries.<\/p>\n Even if the drone isn\u2019t discontinued, you may lose support for your preferred operating system.<\/p>\n For example, drone manufacturer DJI announced<\/a> that it will no longer update its iOS software development kit (SDK).<\/p>\n This means developers for third-party platforms that use iOS software APIs and integrations will be working on an unsupported protocol. In the announcement, DJI recommends all developers switch to the Android platform going forward.<\/p>\n While the complete impacts are not yet known, a few things could happen:<\/p>\n Hardware issues<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Software issues<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Ultimately, the real danger is not having clarity and waiting for something last minute. Because software changes like this often come as a surprise and their impacts are hard to predict, it\u2019s easy for Contractors to be left in the lurch. This is one big reason why many Contractors simply use the app that comes with the drone (for free).<\/p>\n Typically, when a platform forces you into a drone, it\u2019s because they\u2019ve altered some drone settings (and components potentially), to fly in a certain way that connects to their platform.<\/p>\n These features may not be comprehensive. Lawnmower survey flight paths, for example, are top-down images that don\u2019t capture angles properly<\/a>. This could lead to inaccurate shade analysis because the lack of oblique imagery means that the surrounding scene isn’t modeled well\u2014 when that happens, shade has to be simulated, and therefore can be compromised.<\/p>\n Locking into a singular drone model or ecosystem delivers a couple of short-term benefits. First, bundling software and hardware means one centralized payment to start a drone program, though this really only benefits your Payables department. Second, pairing the drone to a flight path allows for maximum automation, but that includes giving up any control for unique situations or if the wrong address is programmed.<\/p>\n There are several notable benefits to being able to fly whatever drone you want for your surveying or maintenance programs:<\/p>\n Budget flexibility<\/strong>: You have the freedom to shop around for the drone that best fits your feature needs and budget.<\/p>\n Use case flexibility<\/strong>: Choose the drone that best suits your use case, rather than trying to make a single drone work for everything.<\/p>\n Easier maintenance and quicker replacement<\/strong>: Buy what you need quickly (including additional maintenance like DJI Care or Autel Care). You can also easily buy hardware parts and replacements from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo, or any other drone distributor if you’re in a bind.<\/p>\n You can rely on the specs<\/strong>: Buying from the manufacturer or a reseller means no doctoring \u2014 so all warranties will be intact and you can rely on the software, firmware, and sensors included.<\/p>\n Perhaps most importantly, drone optionality means you can do what you<\/em> want in your<\/em> business rather than being told what to do by a third party. If you want your whole company to use a single drone type, that\u2019s your prerogative. However, you can also change whenever you see fit, because no software company or external vendor is forcing you to commit.<\/p>\n Drone technology is rapidly evolving and prices are on a downward trend<\/a> \u2014 don\u2019t get stuck with an expensive drone from a software provider that can\u2019t give you optionality.<\/p>\n Instead, look for a platform (like Scanifly) that makes it easy to work with multiple data sets<\/a>, quickly upload data from the field to save time<\/a>, and supports the full project lifecycle.<\/p>\n When you work with a platform that powers drone optionality, the whole project process gets easier \u2014 and that makes it easier for you to run your business.<\/p>\n Sponsored Content by Scanifly<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Takeaway: Being locked into a singular drone or a drone ecosystem is often inadequate for comprehensive surveying, O&M, and marketing needs\u2014and you typically pay more. Instead, work with a platform like Scanifly that integrates with any drone (i.e. drone agnostic), enabling you to select the right model, price point, and feature set for your business.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20937,"featured_media":108178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5583],"tags":[5582],"class_list":{"2":"type-post","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWvhy getting locked into a singular drone model is a bad business move<\/h3>\n
1. Your drone could be discontinued<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/scanifly-sponsored-image1-december2024-article2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2. You often pay a premium<\/h4>\n
3. The drone manufacturer could stop updating the software<\/h4>\n
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4. Automated flight paths may not be enough for your needs<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/scanifly-sponsored-image2-december2024-article2.png\")
<\/p>\nThe benefits of drone optionality<\/h3>\n
Get the right drone for your needs<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/scanifly-sponsored-image3-december2024-article2.jpg\")
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