From underwater to high above it. How a submarine driver became a drone ace.
In a recent Soar Cast, Jeremy Stewart from 72VISION shared his journey on transitioning from underwater remotely operated vehicles to drones.
Jeremy Stewart is owner of 72VISION, a drone services company offering aerial photography, videography and asset inspection. Before moving over to the drone world, he worked in the oil and gas sector as a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) pilot, as well as service engineer and mining geo-technician. While ROV’s are not as mainstream as drones, there are similarities between the two. An ROV is a tethered underwater mobile device that is operated by a crew either aboard a vessel, a floating platform, or on nearby land. While both types of devices are operated remotely by a pilot, the size of an ROV differs greatly from a drone: ROVs can be as big as a four-wheel drive, and some of the really large ones have a smaller ROV mounted on the back.
Unlike drones, most ROVs are equipped with much additional equipment as there’s no maximum payload for operating underwater. Apart from a video camera and lights, commonly added equipment to expand the ROV’s capabilities are sonar and instruments that measure things such as water clarity and temperature. Additionally, ROV’s have been mounted with optical-stereo cameras to improve the pilots’ perception of the underwater scenarios.
Darren and Stewart discussed how operating an ROV is different from a drone;
Darren: Is it safe to say that an ROV is like a massive underwater drone?
Jeremy: Yes, that’s a good comparison. The mounted cameras make it possible to see lots of pretty stuff underwater, but operating an ROV is difficult as well because of currents and wells underwater.
Darren: What’s the deepest you’ve gone with an ROV?
Jeremy: I´ve gone as deep as 900 meters in Australian waters with an ROV.
Stewart’s drone photography work
On his Instagram profile, Stwart has listed a large number of aerial drone images showing closeups of people surfing. One image, in particular, that was shared often on social media shows US professional surfer Conner Coffin dropping into a wave, accompanied by dolphins. The image was taken in Margaret River, a town some 200km south of Perth. Before shooting the image, Stewart already knew that the dolphins were eager to join the surfers as they usually are quite playful in the area. He just kept tracking them until the right moment occurred to shoot the image.
The drone used by Stewart on that particular day was a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, which he describes as a very handy piece of equipment. Although the Mavic 2 Pro basic combo comes with the drone, battery, remote controller, charger, and four pairs of propellers, upgrading to the Fly More kit will get consumers additional items, such as additional batteries, a charger that can be used inside a car and a carrying bag. This makes the Mavic 2 Pro a great first choice for new drone users, as well as a great starting point for upgrades.
During the podcast, Darren and Jeremy discussed how the dolphin image was shot and the feedback he received after publishing it;
Darren: Have you gotten some good exposure out of shooting this image?
Jeremy: Yes, quite a lot actually. After posting the image online, Conner emailed me asking for the pictures. I sent them to him and he published them as well. This in turn led to some interest from other surfing pros and I did get a few high fives too.
Darren: How did you get the right colors and color balancing? Did you use a filter?
Jeremy: No, I didn´t have a filter on that day. I did think about putting filters on, but it was a little sunny that day, so I was sort of locked in. Sometimes you may have to do editing afterwards, but I was lucky with that too.
Starting a Drone Services Company
Currently, Stewart is owner and operations manager of 72VISION, a drone services company operating from Perth, Australia. The company offers aerial asset inspection, videography and photography services that can be applied for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications, such as oil and gas, real estate and land development.
The company was launched by Stewart after noticing a rising demand for drone-generated data in different industries, while constant technological advancements keep improving drone technology and the quality of the acquired data. He invested heavily in getting all the necessary certifications needed to serve a wide range of applications that require aerial photography drone data, video and inspection work.
Having just finished some recent projects in real estate, Stewart is combining his favorite pastime with drone photography: surfing. The idea is to use a drone to monitor colleague surfers during training. Afterward, the video helps them to see how well they’re doing and where they can improve. Stewart says that the drone is, in fact, a very good personal trainer. “Also, the good thing is that you can always reverse and slow down the video imagery, if necessary. This also helps you to remember certain locations and circumstances, such as the wave’s shape on a particular day and use that for next time you’re training”.
Darren and Jeremy discussed the move from being a professional ROV pilot to starting one’s own drone services company;
Darren: What is your experience thus far about starting your own drone company?
Jeremy: Trying to find your niche as a drone company is challenging, but exciting as well. While the drone industry is still in its infancy, it’s getting bigger very rapidly. The demand for accurate drone data creates many new business opportunities.
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