Commercial Use of Drones Expands

The use of drones is expanding quickly. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts a fourfold increase in commercial drones by 2022, to 450,000 from 110,000 today. The machines are becoming safer, with longer battery life, the FAA says. Drones with high-resolution imaging technology bring a means to get business done faster and in some cases, with reduced risks of injury.

BNSF Railway Co. deploys drones that work in tandem with infrastructure. They are used to inspect railway assets, some high above land or built into the edges of mountains, freeing human inspectors from having to clamber over and under bridges.

“Looking under a bridge with a drone—it’s much easier to do that,” BNSF CIO Muru Murugappan said. Murugappan’s technology group oversees the railroad’s drone projects, including the data analytics work on the images the machines collect. His team defines test programs, with input from business counterparts. Cargo theft remains a problem for U.S. railroads and BNSF’s private police unit sometimes sends up a drone to check out reports of trespassers in train yards or near tracks.  Source: Wall Street Journal