Drones or UAV as a service is the new trend in construction that is being used in many projects around the world, offering multiple benefits. Imagine that your drone can be connected to a cloud-based platform and all information is captured and gathered instantaneously to your server; sounds nice right? Well, that is the type of service that leading tech company Drone SmartX™ is offering builders and contractors almost everywhere. This company offers a product that is added to their UAV/drones 

The company, through their UAV SmartHub™, allows customers to connect to Smart Sensors, such as RFID and Bluetooth 4.0 devices, on the field, capable of capturing data and storing them in the cloud platform. The hub can be attached to almost any commercial drones available in the market, meaning that existing drone companies can use their existing drones without having to acquire new equipment or other drones. The product right now can be used on multiple platforms, such as Windows, Android, and Linux.

The software is designed in such a way that you can use multi-field assets and UAV tracking reports, or configure your own data to export to Excel, CVS or PDF. The system will deliver real-time data of your equipment and conditions, tracking log, process changes, maintenance records, and inventory tracking. The UAV SmartHub™ solution has several reports that are out of the box for your convenience. SmartX Hub™ is a subscription-based business solution delivered to the Smart Cloud. All subscriptions include the following:

• System operations support
• Upgrades
• Standard application support
• Robust data security
• System monitoring

Different alert notifications, permissions, and restriction of sensitive data can be used to control and keep information confidential as needed. Contractors and builders are using this technology as described in the following sections.

The 'smart drone' technology can produce efficient and cost savings solutions on the job site by enhancing the way inventories are kept and maintained. The tools used will require fewer man-hours, as the tracking, management, and inventory can be controlled and assessed using the drones at a faster pace than normal management procedures. The system will allow you to have better control over the following areas:

• Yard check-in and /check-out of assets
• RFID tagging of inventory
• Grid-based location of assets
• Inventory location and reporting
• Project and work order integration to authorize yard activity

Some other benefits of the cloud-platform are:

• Improved asset visibility and automation
• Reduction in shrinkage and waste
• Increased service levels with lower inventory carrying costs
• Reduced time to locate assets

RFID ( Radio-frequency identification) and smart tags are proven solutions (using electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects) for real-time tracking of material, equipment, and other building components. This technology allows for control and precise functionality of equipment being used and installed at the site. When this technology is combined with smart drones, it will improve traceability, reduce project delays, minimize rental losses due to misplaced parts and equipment, improve logistic planning and helps to locate assets on a sitemap using real-time data.

Not only for material tracking, but the platform can be used in conjunction with RFID, so it can be used to perform operations in challenging conditions, weather-changing environments, mines, construction sites, or even inaccessible locations. By taking advantage of the smart drone systems, employees can be notified of possible and potentially dangerous conditions and situations that can harm your workforce. It can also be used to keep attendance records and monitor workers on site and is a convenient tool to keep track of how many employees are working in sensitive or hazardous areas.

The 'smart drone' platform can be used to map your tools, assets, and workforce in the designed area, providing a real-time overview of all critical building components of the project in a helpful, graphical, easy to read format. A powerful visualization tool, the UAV SmartHub™ Map, provides access to all key project areas allowing management and construction staff to monitor productions, operations, and performance so decisions can be taken to increase efficiency while providing data that will help during the decision-making process.

• Visualize ground movement from tracking data
• Symbols indicate object type (UAVs, Personnel or vehicle)
• Availability of infrastructure (e.g. high temperature or humid area)
• Details upon selection of an object
• Zoom and scroll
• Tailor to specific needs (toggle on/off layers, filter objects)
• Detail date of an area with the status of items per category, group, department, and type

The system, in combination with your favorite 3D Mapping system, will also allow you to get benefits in the following areas:

• Pre-project assessments and project survey data
• Integrate all mapping and other data into one single platform.
• When you combined both systems, mapping and other data files from your project, it will save time and produce detailed and faster results, instead of having to deal with different platforms to gather different data simultaneously.
• Achieves quicker results by collecting all the data needed in a single presentation