Using drones to monitor Port Tampa Bay properties and construction projects could save about $180,000 annually and a lot of time, port officials said.
The Tampa Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted to request verification from the attorney general so it can buy drone equipment in 2017. The Federal Aviation Administration requires verification from the state attorney general that the port is "an entity of the state."
"We evaluated the port’s surveying capability and can save $180,000 a year using drones," Bruce Laurion, vice president of engineering, told the board. Drones can also be used to take monthly photos of construction projects as they move
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forward, he added. As an example, he showed the board a video taken above 2D, one of the spoil islands the port uses to discard dredge material when it deepens its channels and berths.
What would take about a month by foot to survey — and some of it is not accessible by foot — took about 30 minutes using a drone. "We were trying to find out our capacity on the island (for dredge material) and we found out we had 2.2 million cubic yards of capacity," said Laurion.
It will likely take 10-12 months to get certified by the FAA to use a drone, he said.
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