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1. 10/5/2015 Here's how a new drone company helped build Google's expanding campus in Kirkland Puget Sound Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/10/hereshowanewdronecompanyhelpedbuildgoogles.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search 1/4
SRM Development, which is building Google's expanded campus in
Kirkland, used drones this… more
AERIAL SCOUTS
This summer a drone buzzed over Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) expanding campus in Kirkland,
but it wasn't a competitor looking for an edge.
The UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle, belonged to Aerial Scouts, a new Seattle company that
uses drones to help construction companies make sure buildings are going up according to
plans.
The Federal Aviation Administration just granted Aerial Scouts an exemption that allows the
company to commercially fly drones over construction sites.
Aerial Scouts co-founder Mike Bratter said the company is the first in Washington state that
works exclusively with construction companies to obtain the FAA exemption. The FAA
couldn't confirm the claim because the agency does not track the exemptions by state, an
agency spokesman said.
The move by Aerial Scouts likely will be a game-changer for the construction industry, which
until now has relied on airplanes to capture aerial images. Planes capture static images of
projects, and the flights often have to be scheduled with other general contractors' projects.
Plus, getting good images depends on weather, and it's more expensive to capture the photos with a plane compared to a drone.
By contrast, drones can be flown much closer to buildings almost whenever the contractor wants, and they can provide 3D mapping, building inspection,
surveying and live video feed services in addition to static images.
The potential for drones in the construction industry is "immense," said Jackson Buck, a project superintendent with SRM Development. "I think before long this is
going to be commonplace."
SRM plans to use Aerial Scout's services on future projects, he said.
Buck saw the benefits of drones before connecting with Bratter's company, and got his own UAV to work on the Google expansion.
"Then I crashed my drone, and it was gone at a critical time," said Buck, who added it was a machine malfunction, not operator error, that cased the mishap in
which no one was injured.
So he turned to Aerial Scouts, whose mission is to make commercial construction less expensive, safer and more efficient.
Bratter founded the company with Brian Holl, a former vice president for the Small UAV Coalition, which is made up of Google, Amazon and other companies
interested in the commercial use of drones.
"These guys are techie guys, not construction guys," said Buck, who found it beneficial to work with someone who could explain the rules and regulations of drone
flight.
Because Aerial Scouts was not yet licensed, the company did not charge SRM for its work. The company did the work as a "case study," said Bratter. The company
also did studies for other construction companies, including Exxel Pacific, Walsh, Deacon, and Compass Construction.
Bratter and Holl planned to launch a drone company, though they were unsure which industries to target. They had a lot to choose from, including companies that
put on weddings and other special events.
"I kind of thought construction made sense because we're in Seattle and there's a lot of construction going on," said Bratter, who said that it's best for businesses to
specialize. "But I also think it's safer" compared to weddings where a crashing drone could wreak some real havoc.
"At least at a construction site," he said, "everybody is wearing safety gear."
Marc Stiles covers commercial real estate and government for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
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SEATTLE TECHFLASH
Here's how a new drone company helped build Google's expanding campus in
Kirkland
Oct 5, 2015, 2:03pm PDT
Marc Stiles
Staff Writer
Puget Sound Business Journal
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