Harvey Presents Test for Drones

Fleets of commercial drones are hovering over destruction from Hurricane Harvey in an unprecedented test of the unmanned aircraft’s ability to assess billions of dollars in damage for insurers.

This higher-profile use may ultimately accelerate drones’ use in industries such as agriculture.

“Harvey is an opportunity to see whose drones are capable and whose are merely toys,” said George Mathew, chairman and chief executive of Kespry, a drone company based in California. “Harvey is a seminal moment for the (drone) industry.”

Kespry is equipping nearly 10 insurance companies with drones in the areas hit by Harvey to help gather information to process claims. Their use will allow claims adjusters to process three houses in an hour. Without drones, the pace would be more like three houses in a day.

The Federal Aviation Administration loosened restrictions on drones 15 months ago. Since then, thousands of people have obtained FAA certificates allowing them to fly drones commercially, and more than 770,000 drones have been registered to fly in U.S. airspace.

Obstacle avoidance technology in the newest drones and the ability to set exact flight parameters with global positioning, known as GEO-fencing, should minimize crashes that may have been unavoidable a few years ago, said Ryan Baker, CEO of drone company Arch Aerial LLC.

Industry analysts expect the agriculture, construction, and insurance industries to spend $13 billion on drones between 2016 and 2020.

Source: Reuters