LAST week, in Horse Sense, we briefly discussed the use of drones in equestrian sport and reminded drone users of their responsibilities to ensure safety. The use of drones by amateurs is becoming more and more prevalent in Ireland - in the course of the last month, two horse owners in my local area have purchased a drone.
In Ireland there is currently no way to monitor amateur or recreational drone users and there are those all over the country using drones “recklessly and inappropriately”, according to drone expert Ian Kiely. This poses a huge concern for horse owners and farmers in relation to the safety and welfare of their animals and the security of their property.
There is nothing stopping people buying an expensive and sophisticated drone off the shelf that can fly higher than 400ft and potentially obstruct an aircraft or cause serious damage to people and their property.
Having attended the National Ploughing Championships this year, Kiely stated that he was “surprised at how many people had never seen or touched a drone.
“Here in Dublin, city environments, people are more familiar with them,” Kiely continued. “I believe an explosion is happening, farmers are starting to ask questions so I think that by the end of this year many more people outside of the city will be familiar with drones.”
When I went to see the drones and to learn more about their technology at Drone Consultants Ireland’s base in Dun Laoghaire, I was amazed at the size and capabilities of these machines. Ian Kiely kindly allowed me to fly the Yuneec Typhoon H, a drone which retails at about €600.
Having listened to Kiely speak about the technology and capabilities of the machines, I had a newfound respect for what they could do and the damage they could cause if something went wrong.
The technology was such that the whole experience was made very easy under Kiely’s watchful eye. However, I couldn’t stress enough the necessity for proper training before taking a drone like this home. The controls were very sensitive, one wrong move could send the drone into a building, car or person. The drones can travel at a speed of up to 50km/h.
There is no doubt that with proper training and an understanding of how the machine operates that drones could be used as an invaluable tool in the management of horses and farm animals. Drone Consultants Ireland offer professional training for those interested in learning more about drones.
AMATEUR USES
“A lot of amateur drone users have a genuine interest in flying and/or technology so drones have a big appeal. Amateurs might buy a drone for data gathering, photography, surveillance, security, sports – the list is endless,” explains Kiely.
“Drones can be used for building and turbine inspections, it is possible to use certain models and software for mapping. Estate agents and marketing companies are beginning to use drones more and more in their line of work. Drones are a great investment for a vast array of businesses.
“For example, a company currently building offices in Dublin is using a drone to take 3D models of the structure as it is being built so that the project manager is kept up date with its progress without having to come on-site.
“Drone sonar technology can be used to survey existing structures and identify issues such as cracks in walls etc. A drone can survey a building in a few hours saving time and resources, making the job far safer, as personnel never need to go near the compromised structure.”
POPULAR DRONES
When asked about the types and models of drones which are most popular amongst amateur or recreational users Kiely stated: “It can range from small toys like the RayLine Funtom, pictured above, which retails at about €55 to more sophisticated drones like the Yuneec Typhoon H, pictured above, which starts at about €600-700.
“I would recommend that people start out with a less-expensive model – everybody crashes their first drone! So you don’t want to have spent a lot of money before you have built up good control of the drone in flight.
“Also, the cheaper models are a little more difficult to fly – if you can learn and manage to fly one of them you will find it much easier when you fly a more superior drone. If you buy a drone worth €600-700, you will get a relatively decent camera and a nice bit of kit but then you will need to buy all the extras. For example, a proper transport box or batteries which can cost €100 each.
“Ideally you should look for a drone with six rotors – that way if one rotor fails or even up to two or three rotors fail you should be able to fly and land the drone safely. I believe it will become mandatory in the near future for drones to be built with a minimum of six rotors.
“With the Yuneec Typhoon H, the drone will notify you at the control if a rotor fails and you can decide to fly the drone back and land. If you get into difficulty and don’t make a decision within 10 seconds after being notified of rotor failure, the drone will return automatically to the control and land.
“However, if you do not have a sonar avoidance system installed in the drone, the drone could potentially collide with a tree or building on its return, if you are not controlling it. A model with a sonar avoidance system will be able to work its way around obstructions and fly back to you intact.”
DRONES IN AGRICULTURE
In December last, the Irish Farmers Journal reported that: “The total value of drone powered solutions to global industries is worth $127.3bn with the infrastructure sector benefiting most at $45bn and agriculture coming in second at $32.4bn.
“The figures are estimates of business, labour and services that have the potential for replacement by drones in the near future, based on data from 2015.”
Drone technology will allow for cheaper, more flexible and precise crop monitoring over large areas of farmed land. Soil analysis presented on 3D maps can be created from information gathered by drones, which will allow optimum seed planting patterns to de developed.
When asked about the future use of drones in agriculture, Kiely said: “Ireland is going to be a little behind here because traditionally our farms are quite small. At the moment it is not feasible for a farmer to have a precision agri-drone unless their farm is quite big. The technology is evolving at a rapid pace and I envisage that in two to three years the use of drones within Irish agriculture will be quite prevalent.
“There is a company in Cork working on soil sensors so that drones can pick up information without touching the soil. I recently visited a sheep farmer in Mayo to demonstrate some of the uses of drones in agriculture.
“I operated the drone from his jeep, on the control panel I was able to see his entire flock and show him on the monitor, I was also able to separate and herd his sheep in a matter of minutes, the farmer was so impressed by what the drone could do he bought one there and then.”
DRONES IN EQUESTRIAN SPORT
There are some crossover benefits between the use of drones in agriculture and equine management specifically. Kiely stated: “A drone would be just as effective for checking horses as it would cattle or sheep. A drone with an 80 degree lens camera will give you a clear view of your horses from 60ft - a horse wouldn’t notice or hear a drone at that height, so owners wouldn’t need to worry about upsetting their animals.
“There’s a definite appetite for drones in the equine world too and there are some great ideas for how drones can be further utilised – they are currently used at certain racecourses for televised race meetings.
“Drones can be used for monitoring a horse’s training. A wizard tracking system is available, simply clip the wizard on to you, and set the drone to stay a minimum distance away at all times and it will stay at that distance and track you wherever you go.
“The basic systems have sonar avoidance so if you turn that on and something gets in the way of the drone it will stop dead. It’s so sensitive that if it detects a cable in its way and the cable is blowing in the wind it will actually back up as the cable moves and that’s the basic €1,100 model.
“A more advanced €1,800 model can recognise you without the person having to wear the wizard tracking device, the drone can use facial recognition to follow that person.
“A trainer can see what the drone sees from the control. There are products you can buy to help improve picture and live stream so that the if the trainer was away they could still watch the horses training live at home.”
Gordon Elliott recently posted a promotional video of his yard and training facilities on Facebook. Some of the footage was captured from above. The fees for hiring a professional drone pilot to take a video of your facilities would start at about €800. This would be for just the raw footage without any editing. To do the video and edit it would cost €1,000+.
SECURITY DRONES
Drone technologies are available whereby you can map your land and set the drone to fly above the highest point. The drone will survey the land autonomously, within the boundaries you have set, and using thermographic imaging the drone can identify human heat signatures, showing an outline of a person.
You can record that footage and there is nothing to prevent you live-streaming it to the Gardaí if it is suspected that someone is trespassing. Kiely added: “In the US they have drones that are synchronised with security lighting, so if your lighting system is triggered it will signal the drone to start and the drone will fly up automatically and either record or take images of the trespassers. It’s not against the law to fly at night as many people often believe it is.
“Again, there is a definite appetite for similar systems here in Ireland, for example petrol station owners in remote areas have shown an interest.”
Thermographic drone imaging could potentially be very useful for farmers and horse owners during the breeding season as it would allow you to see the form of the animal – you would be able to tell whether the animal is lying down or standing up and you would be able to see if the animal is foaling.
DRONE ABUSE
“There is far less abuse of drones than people think,” according to Kiely. He continued: “Just remember that everything you do with your drone is recorded internally. People might remember a case where a drone was used to try to deliver drugs to Wheatfield Prison, a digital memory card on-board recorded the exact route the drone took and was used to help track down the perpetrators.
“It’s not against the law to capture someone’s property on camera but if you fly over someone’s property, the owner can take issue with that and report a breach of privacy. You need special permission to fly over someone’s property or you need permission from the landowner.
“There are approximately 140 licenced, registered, drone pilots, many of which have a Specific Operating Permission (SOP). SOPs are issued when a drone operator intends to fly beyond the statutory limitations as detailed in SI. 563/2015 and has completed a safety course of instruction available at a registered training facility.
“I recently did a number of multi-flights over the city and had to get permission from the county council. People with the relevant permission to fly over your property will generally notify those in the area prior to the flight.
“The difficulty at the moment with prosecuting amateur drone pilots who are operating outside the parameters set out in SI. 563/2015 is that we do not have a mechanism for prosecuting people because it is so broad, the problem is finding the individual and proving it was them – it’s very hard to do.
“Ireland are huge on the global aviation scale; every country that has progressive drone regulations are following Ireland, that’s a fact.
“I believe all drones will be banned two years from now unless you have a licence.
“Currently all drones have to be registered with ASSET. ASSET is a tool to help you produce information for flying. However not many people are making use of this application. It can be difficult for people to use, we need something more user friendly.”
Over the next few years we can expect to see drones playing a bigger part in our everyday lives. Amazon Prime Air recently trialled the technology to deliver parcels to customers in the UK in under 30 minutes.
With the technology constantly developing and the boundaries constantly being pushed, we need the Government to put in place more stringent legislation which will offer greater protection for the welfare of livestock.
Currently it is our own responsibility to ensure safety when using drones. I would advise that everyone wishing to operate a drone is trained by a professional, is up-to-date with the current legislation and takes the greatest care when flying so as not to upset or cause injury to any animals.
For more information you can visit the Drone & Tech Expo which takes place from the 10th-12th of March in the RDS. Visit droneconsultantsireland.ie for more details.