Former first responder provides useful UAV services

GIFFORD, Ill. — After spending 30 years as a paramedic and volunteer firefighter, Dave Burt “retired and got bored,” when an event in his area gave him an idea that sparked a new business.

“Someone’s pet went missing in our area. They brought in a company from as far away as Ohio to search for the pet using a drone. I’m like, ‘there wasn’t anybody close?’” he said.

Burt and his wife, Bethany, decided to fill the need for unmanned aerial vehicle services and started the process to open their own business.

“I went through the process to get my certification and to fly drones commercially and then built up the business from there,” he said.

Bethany is president and operations manager, and he is operations manager and certified Part 107 remote pilot of From Above Aerial Imagery, a business in Mahomet in east-central Illinois that began operations this past November.

From Above Aerial Imagery was among the new businesses with a booth at the Midwest Ag Expo.

With deep roots in central Illinois and decades of combined experience in public safety and management, From Above Aerial Imagery uses advanced drone technology to provide clear, actionable perspectives from above — helping farmers, homeowners, businesses, utilities and first responders make informed decisions.

The firm’s UAV services include precision agriculture, search and rescue and emergency support, inspections and infrastructure, renewable energy inspections, 3D mapping and modeling, and real estate aerial photography and video.

Crop Monitoring

Precision agricultural services include crop monitoring.

“We’ll fly the field, take the photos, plug it into our software, we’ll stitch it all together, and it’ll tell you if there are any issues and give stand count reports,” Burt said.

“If there are any issues, we use a variable rate applicator calculator that I’ll be able to figure out how much they need to use and how much it’ll cost them.

“Once we’re done with all that, we’ll send the files over to the farmer, and if they’ve had any problems, then they’ll be able to address them.”

The imagery will be able to spot problems in specific locations in the field, ranging from nutrient deficiency to pests to drainage problems at the back of the field.

“It saves the farmer time from actually physically walking the whole field versus I’ll just send the drone up and fly the whole field, take the imagery, then they can review it themselves and go from there,” Burt said.

Centimeters

The UAV has real-time kinematic precision mapping capabilities with accuracy down to a centimeter.

“When I’ve set up the mission into the controller, it’s through Google Maps, so I’ll be able to plot exactly the precise area around the field and it’ll just take that area that I’ve set up for. That’s how precise it’ll be,” Burt said. “They recommend about 200 to 250 feet to gather the imagery.

“We don’t even have to take pictures. We have the capabilities for live feed if the farmer wants to be there and just wants to take a look at something in the field. We can set that up. He meets us out to the field, we’ll fly and take a look at it, and he can look for himself.”

The services are not limited to east-central Illinois.

“We want to be able to provide a service to the farmers at an affordable cost without breaking the bank for them to find out if there’s a problem and the solution to fix it,” Burt said.

Justin Slade, a friend and associate of Burt who works for a farmer near Sadorus, was at the Midwest Ag Expo booth and has seen the benefits of the services.

“That’s kind of how we got into the precision ag side of it because we’re always looking for different ways. He’s got the capability and we’re looking to integrate it into our farm,” Slade said.

“He’s able to do a little bit of everything. He does cell towers, wind towers, you can do building inspections, for instance, if you have an old crib or something like that and you don’t want to climb up and check the roof — he can do that.”

“For anyone who has livestock they want to keep track of, we can fly over and check out the livestock for them. We can also look at the bins to see if there’s any problems with them. We’ll tailor it to your needs,” Burt said.

Ever-Expanding

The capabilities of UAVs continues to expand.

“It just seems like every day when I do my due diligence and research on drone technology, there’s a new use for it that comes out,” Burt said.

“We offer search and rescue. We assist public agencies if they become overwhelmed should there be a disaster. We can use it to help with that.

“In the event of possible crop damage due to hail, for example, that may or may not be in an area of the field easily accessible, we can take images to assess the damage and send it to the farmer’s insurance company to file a claim.”