AsiaIndustrial NetNews: In the past, “UAVs” were very “tall” in the minds of citizens, and only special industries could use them. However, in recent years, as the technology of civilian drones has become more and more mature and its price has continued to fall, owning a drone is no longer out of reach, and it has even become a good helper for some citizens to “earn extra money”. More and more groups of media reporters, photographers, film and television performance companies, and law enforcement officers have joined the ranks of “holders”. Even in rural areas, drones are no longer mysterious and remote. However, with the popularity of small drones, some hidden problems have also surfaced.
Fly into the homes of ordinary people
“We were the first film and television company in Bozhou to have drones. At that time, there should be no more than five in Bozhou.” Zhao Tengfei, general manager of Bozhou Big Bird Film and Television Co., Ltd. said proudly, “As far as I know, we are the first ‘enlightenment’ in Bozhou. Series of DJI drones, this is the high-end series of DJI drones, and the mid-to-low-end range is the ‘Genie’ series.”
Talking about the “value” of drones, Zhao Tengfei described it as “like a tiger with wings”, “I used to want to shoot some tall pictures, and I couldn’t shoot videos from other perspectives. Even better, the company’s business has increased, and the Public Security Bureau, the Youth League Committee, and the Organization Department are willing to cooperate with us.”
For the media, drones are no longer “optional” but “standard”. Li Qingliang, a new media reporter from Bozhou Evening News, said: “Bozhou Evening News purchased drones based on its importance. The plane view of the news scene can no longer meet the needs of the audience, and news also needs innovation.”
“Recording the urban development of Bozhou, preserving the beautiful moments of Bozhou, and emergencies all require reporters to get rid of the human body’s perspective and shoot pictures from the air, three-dimensional and multi-dimensional shooting pictures, drones just provide reporters with new perspectives and new horizons. It’s more impactful.” Li Qingliang said excitedly.
The Bozhou Evening News has dispatched drones at major moments and important scenes such as the opening ceremony of the Cultural Tourism Year and the Bozhou series from the air, and the pictures captured caused quite a stir. Drones are not only attractive to the media. “Most film and television companies buy drones, and people in the photographers’ association also buy them.” Li Qingliang said.
In addition to artistic creation, drones have also become a “sharp weapon” for the executive branch of law enforcement. The Urban Management Bureau of Bozhou Economic and Technological Development Zone first bought a small drone. “Three or four thousand yuan, the flight time is only a few minutes, and then I bought a larger drone for more than 20,000 yuan.” The staff introduced Say. The Economic Development Zone Urban Management Bureau currently has three drones, “two small and one large.”
Since the introduction of drones, the work of urban management has become much more convenient. “The effect of illegal control is very good. Before we could not climb into the villagers’ homes, but drones could fly on them to shoot; the supervision of enterprises is also convenient, and the drones You can get evidence by flying over; the monitoring of illegal construction in the community is also convenient, and sometimes you can get evidence from outside without entering your home.”
With the advancement of technology and lower prices, the threshold for owning a drone is getting lower and lower. “I spent more than 30,000 yuan to buy a drone at the time, a set of batteries cost 1,200 yuan, and 6 sets cost more than 10,000 yuan. Now it can be bought for a few thousand yuan, so most film and television companies in the urban area basically There are drones.”
Plant protection expert busy in the field
The market for drones is not limited to cities, and the value of drones is easier to highlight in rural areas.Jiao Kui, chairman of the Qiaocheng Agricultural Machinery Association, said: “In 2016, 10 cooperatives in the association purchased 19 drones at one time, thanks to the city’s agricultural department’smechanicalsubsidy. “
“Last year, the municipal agricultural committee’s subsidy fund for agricultural machinery reached 3 million yuan, including drones, which have been treated as ‘plant protection machinery’.” Jiao Kui said happily. “Plant protection” is the protection of plants, and in agriculture, it is the protection of crops, which is mainly reflected in the prevention and control of diseases and insect pests of crops.
Jiao Kui praised the role of drones in agriculture, “It is very useful and improves the work efficiency and quality of spraying (pesticide). Crops can be sprayed with self-propelled agricultural machinery in the early stage, but not in the middle and later stages. Especially for high-stem crops like corn, self-propelled spraying machines and manual spraying are not enough, and the advantages of drones are revealed.”
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“In the past, a person could make more than ten acres of medicine a day, and he was very tired after a day. But drones can make one acre of medicine in one minute, and one flight can cover 15 to 20 acres of land, which greatly improves the efficiency. Not only the efficiency High, the effect is better. When the drone is flying, it can atomize the pesticide, and with the help of the wind of the drone, it can reach the roots.” Jiao Kui said.
Wang Guoqing, deputy general manager of Bozhou Feirui General Aviation Technology Development Co., Ltd., told reporters: “Agricultural plant protection is currently the most widely used field of drones, with very good prospects and a large market.” The parent company of Bozhou Feirui General Aviation Technology Development Co., Ltd. is Beijing Feirui Technology Development Co., Ltd., the company “focuses on the field of drone agriculture, forestry and plant protection.”
“It can save more than 90% of water, and also save a lot of pesticides, reducing agricultural pollution. The TD220 drone we produced has a maximum load of 150 kg, can carry 100 kg of pesticides at a time, and can spray 400 acres of pesticides, greatly improving efficiency.” Wang Guoqing continued.
In Wang Guoqing’s view, the importance of drones to agricultural plant protection is not limited to efficiency. “For example, the scab of wheat requires full coverage of pesticides within a few days. In addition to drones, other agricultural machinery It is impossible to achieve such an effect. Chinese herbal medicine also encounters such problems.”
However, Wang Guoqing said with a little regret: “At present, the villagers in rural Bozhou are not very accepting of drones, mainly because of the high price. Our service fee is 10 yuan per mu of land, although it is low-cost. Operation, but it is still a lot more expensive than other methods of spraying.”
But Wang Guoqing is full of confidence in the future of drones, “Although there are not many farmers who ask us to spray pesticides, the market is very large. When the government implements ‘one spray and three defenses’, we will participate in it. COFCO’s large households and families The farm is also willing to cooperate with us, and at the same time, we are actively ‘going out’, and last year we went to Jiangxi, Tianjin, Beijing, Hainan, Hubei and other places to provide pesticide spraying services.”
Drones are “accident prone”
A “flight accident” is the last thing the owner wants to encounter. Jiao Kui said regretfully: “We didn’t have drones before, and we always asked drones from other places to spray medicine. Once we rented a drone from Guoyang, but it flew and fell and broke. In 2015 I also bought one, and it was not good enough to return it.”
Although Bozhou Evening News has owned drones for a period of time, they have not flown many times. “There are many accidents and the crash rate is high. There are many reasons for the accident. , and sometimes flying animals and other objects may also cause the plane to crash.”
In order to deal with possible risks, Bozhou Evening News spent more than 1,000 yuan to buy insurance for the drone. “When operating the drone, it is recommended that two people operate together, one flying, and the other observing the surrounding environment. First familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment, and then plan the flight route after observation. The psychological quality should also be excellent, improve resilience, and try to avoid and reduce losses. .” Li Qingliang suggested.
The first drone of the Urban Management Bureau of Bozhou Economic and Technological Development Zone “frequently falls. At first, people will not use it if they are unfamiliar with it. Later, the skills gradually improved and the situation improved. When flying, you must stay away from high-voltage lines to interfere with the drone. Great.” The staff said.
Not only are novices prone to “flying accidents”, but even veterans have “horses stumbled”. Zhao Tengfei said with a smile: “Last year on Qixi Festival, our drone was knocked down by a pigeon while flying, and it cost more than 6,000 yuan to repair it. Such an accident caught us off guard.”
Wang Guoqing, deputy general manager of Bozhou Feirui General Aviation Technology Development Co., Ltd., said: “Our company not only provides drone rental services, but also produces drones in the future. Training ‘flight controllers’ is also one of our company’s businesses. Human-machine driving skills.”
Regulation becomes a “vacuum zone”
Despite the rapid development of drones, the reporter did not find the relevant authorities during the interview. A staff member of the Municipal Meteorological Bureau told reporters: “UAVs are not under our control.” “We control those with roots (lines), and those without roots (lines) are not under our control.” The staff said analogously.
The Bozhou Municipal Safety Supervision Bureau also said that drones do not belong to their business scope, “but if you say it specifically, there must be a regulatory department. If you take pictures of other people’s privacy, they will definitely sue you. If your drone falls and smashes If you lose someone else, they will also seek compensation from you.”
Although no specific competent authority has been found, “there is currently an association that plays a role in standardizing and guiding.” Li Qingliang said. This association is AOPA, whose Chinese name is “China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association”. It was established on August 17, 2004. It is a national industry association under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and is also an international association of aircraft owners and pilots. (IAOPA) as its only legal representative in China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau).
The Civil Aviation Administration of China granted AOPA the right to manage the qualifications of drone pilots from April 30, 2015 to April 30, 2018. The scope of management is that the weight of the empty aircraft operating within the line of sight is greater than 7 kg and those in isolation Qualification management of drone pilots operating beyond visual range in airspace. (Isolated airspace refers to the airspace specially allocated for the operation of unmanned aerial systems to avoid the risk of collision by restricting the entry of other aircraft.)
Ke Yubao, Executive Secretary-General of China AOPA, said: “China AOPA is not a civil servant unit. It only issues a training certificate, not a license. In a specific period before the promulgation of relevant laws and regulations, this training certificate is equivalent to a license.”
However, the “Interim Regulations on the Administration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Pilots” issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of the People’s Republic of China stipulates the following: In the following cases, the pilots of the unmanned aerial vehicle system are responsible for themselves, and no license management is required:
A. drones operating indoors;
b. Micro UAVs (empty weight ≤7kg) operating within the line of sight (radius ≤500m; relative height ≤120m);
c. UAVs for testing in sparsely populated, open, non-populated areas;
The regulations also require a drone “driver’s license” in other situations. In other words: AOPA “driver’s license” is required when flying out of sight distance (distance of more than 500 meters or height of more than 120 meters), or flying a drone with an empty weight greater than 7 kg. However, in the interview, most of the drone “drivers” in Bozhou City did not have a “drone driver’s license”.
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