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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."

5 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. As an Autralian ambassador... by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would like to know why this has been tagged as being about "Australia" and not my home country, "Autralia". Stupid Americans! I suppose you think Autria is the same country, too!

    --
    Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    1. 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

  2. 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!).

  3. Many commercial and civil uses... by bughunter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You hear a lot of hyperbole lately from across the political spectrum bemoaning dire consequences from the use of UAVs. But having worked for a UAV manufacturer in the past, I know with certainty that they are preparing many flavors of unmanned systems for civil and commercial uses. Land management, asset management, traffic reporting, forestry, mining, oceanography, geology, communications, medevac, and cargo applications are just a few of the things that they could do... and will one day.

    However, the only people now with enough money to purchase them are military customers. Thats why almost all of the UAVs out there are military ones.

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