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Autralian Mining Companies Increasing Use of UAVs

Posted by Unknown on from the tracking-down-nightrider dept.

aesoteric writes "Australia's top miners have opened a new front in their march to automation, flying unmanned aerial vehicles in increasing numbers at remote sites across the country. They've been used to inspect a fire-damaged oil rig, perform aerial photography and stockpile surveys. There is also a trend towards non U.S.-built UAVs, due to the lag in receiving export approvals for the aircraft and spare parts."

4 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. So what? by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Informative

    The grand word "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" hides the very simple concept of an oversized radio-controlled plane. Amateurs have been doing aerial photography - and sometimes very good aerial photography - on the cheap with RC planes for a long time. Nothing earth-shattering here...

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:So what? by XiaoMing · · Score: 5, Informative

      If you look at the video in TFA, or even at any of the $20 RC toys that are out there now, you will see one ubiquitous characteristic not present a decade ago that explains why they are such an attractive option: the gyro-stabilization.

      Even a few years back when toy RC copters were just becoming popular, the kludgiest self-righting unit could sell for $100's, and reviews were always comparing their self-righting capabilities and ease of use. Nowadays, the RC gyro units go for pocket money, and the user-friendliness of gyro-copters compared to an RC plane is like WSIWYG vs. LaTeX.

      Now you couple that evolution with the task at hand (taking good pictures/video w.r.t. VTOL vs. Hand Launch, Hover vs. Fly By), and you immediately begin to see why it's taking off (haha!).

  2. Re:As an Autralian ambassador... by Zuriel · · Score: 5, Informative

    Australians use the word 'prawn', actually. Just so you know.

    When Australian comedian Paul Hogan used the phrase, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you" in an American television advertisement, it was intended to make what he was saying easier for his American audience to understand, and was thus a deliberate distortion of what an Australian would typically say.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prawn#Shrimp_and_prawns

  3. Re:As an Autralian ambassador... by sirdude · · Score: 4, Informative

    Interesting to see Merkin also now mentions that it's used as a pejorative in the UK. I've seen a couple of comedians use it in their gags (Rory Bremner comes to mind), but haven't come across any day-to-day usage as such.