The Economics of

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Jonathan Gill

Overview

1. What systems are there?

2. Running and the additional costs?

3. Image processing

4. Questions

Other Options

Systems for different jobs

Below 20 Kg

Above 20 Kg

subject to stricter rules

Fixed Wing UAV’s

• Mission Altitude 100 - 400+ feet

• No station holding capability.

• More space for Launch and

Landing.

Pro’s:

• Flight time up to and over 1 hour

• Wind up to 45 Kph

• Large ground coverage 1 - 5 Ha

• Cheaper with less moving parts

• Payload up to 200 - 2.5Kg+ Con’s:

Multi-rotor UAV’s

• Station holding

• VTOL launch /landing,

• Can fly missions as low

as 15 meters

Pro’s:

• Short flight time 10-20 Min

• Max wind up to 25 kph.

• Less coverage up to 1 Ha

• Needs gimbal stabilisation

• More expensive

• Payload of 200g to 2.5kg

Con’s:

Why Work with a

Multi-rotor

• The best of both worlds

• Flexibility of service that can be offered:

Videography, Photography or Land Management.

• VTOL, Position holding, & Fly a set path

UAS Cost

• HighObs 1 £10,500

• EBee Parrot £16,440

• Aibotix £44,945

Additional Costs

Certification and BNUC-s QualificationUpgrades,Running costs and

Repairs

Cameras, Colour,

Thermal,

Multispectral &

Infrared

Spare,

Batteries,

Props &

Autopilot

Extra sensors:

Lidar

and more to

come..

It is impossible to fly all 365 days

in a year

100 days flying would be a good

year

• Pre-site survey

• Aerial permission

• Site permissions

• Travel

• Risk assessment

• On Site survey

• Crew briefing

• Flight

• Post flight checks

• Image Processing

A Typical Job Includes:

Cost Breakdown

Cost calculations for all three examples assume

the following:

• 3 years investment pay back

• 100 flying days per year

• Depreciation

• Spare’s and repairs

• Insurance

• Qualification costs

HighObs 1 system

cost

Initial outlay £10,910

Cost per hour:

£81.60 (10% spares and repairs)

£92.51 (20% spares and repairs)

Aibotix system cost

Initial outlay £44,944

Cost per hour

£286.80 at (10% spares and repairs)

£316.80 at (20% spares and repairs)

eBee system cost

Initial outlay £16,440

cost per hour

£119.19 at (10% spares and repairs)

£136.88 at (20% spares and repairs)

Processing the Collected

Data

• Mapping software.

• Pix4D £2140 per year

• Agisoft £2105 one off payment

• Cloud processing £10 per Ha

Customer Charges

£600 - £1200 per day plus

• Travel

• Spotter and any other people required

• Post processing & Editing time up to £75 per hour

How much money or time will the customer save?

Example: 40 Ha of Potatoes

Potatoes are expensive to produce

£3101 per Ha* to produce 45 tons per Ha

2 Ha loss due to Nematodes equates to 90 tons

at £215 per tonne**

£19,350 loss

** potato council figures for 2013

* Jon Nix 44th edition

Nematode treatment costs up to £300 - £1000 / Ha

Standard Nematicide treatment typically applied in block

sizes >4 Ha blocks = 2 block treatment costing between

£2400 and £8000+

UAS mapping costs £1000

Targeted treatment reduces area treated to 1 - 2 Ha

reducing costs to <£2000

Saving between £1800 to £5000+ or (£45 to £125+ per Ha)

** potato council figures for 2013

Example: 40 Ha of Potatoes

Sum up key points

• Operating a UAV is not a hobby

• Farmers will only use UAVs if it makes financial

sense to do so

• The decision to purchase a UAV or hire in a service

will depend on the farmer’s circumstances

Questions?