Essential tech for real estate: Drones

January 2015

Drones will become ubiquitous in real estate. And that process will start this year.

For what you would have paid ¢100,000 in 2007 you’ll now pay about ¢700. That is a 142 times improvement in value in just 6 years. And, amazing though it may sound, this advancement is speeding up. Currently most drones need to be controlled through line of sight and the pilot needs to ensure they do not crash in to anything. However, the semiconductor industry is riding to the rescue with billions of dollars of research. Intel for example was showing off RealSense at CES 2015, a technology that enables drones to sense the space around them and avoid obstacles. Qualcomm meanwhile is building similar real-time vision directly into their Snapdragon chip. Such autonomous control opens up a sea of opportunity, not least because flying a squadron of drones, all working in concert, would then be possible. Google ‘TED Flying lampshades’ to get the picture.

With their ability to capture high definition, geo-referenced digital aerial images, stills, video, or even thermal images, Drones can gather unprecedented amounts of data in record time. Whether for professional or marketing purposes they enable you to do more in less time and at a lower cost. In fact Drones are an exponential technology, as discussed opposite. They will enable new applications that are 10 x what is the norm today. What you needed a helicopter for last year you can do with a drone this year. And if that doesn’t excite you, you’re not thinking hard enough.