Overview
The summer of 2021 saw extreme temperatures across the UK, culminating on July 19th, with temperatures reaching an unprecedented 40.3°C. These extreme conditions led to spontaneous crop fires that ravaged farmland, causing millions of pounds in damages.
Wheat, barley, corn, and even fruit crops were destroyed, along with greenhouses and polytunnels. One particular case involved a farmer who lost 100 acres of wheat ready for harvest and 12 acres of woodland.
The fires, which crossed busy roads and fire breaks, posed a significant challenge for the agricultural industry and the fire brigade.
The devastation caused by these fires presented challenges not only in managing the aftermath but also in assessing the damage accurately and swiftly. Farmers needed to begin replanting as soon as possible, and insurance claims required fast and accurate damage assessments to support timely compensation.
Iprosurv, a leading drone operator network, deployed over 100 drone operators to assist farmers, insurers, and loss adjusters in measuring the damage and facilitating the insurance claims process.
Challenges
The primary challenge after the crop fires was assessing the extensive damage over large areas of farmland. Traditional methods, such as manual surveys or using land measurement devices, were slow, inaccurate, and often hindered by accessibility issues due to ongoing fires or debris.
Additionally, time was of the essence for farmers, who needed to replant as quickly as possible to mitigate the financial impact of the fires.
Insurers and loss adjusters faced the difficulty of keeping pace with the surge in claims. Inaccurate or delayed assessments could result in prolonged compensation processes and dissatisfied clients.
Given the scale of the fires, loss adjusters needed a method that could rapidly provide them with accurate data to support swift decisions.
Implementation of Drone Technology
In response to these challenges, Iprosurv’s drone operator network was mobilized. More than 100 drone operators were deployed to capture data from fire-damaged areas, enabling fast and accurate surveys.
In the case of the farmer with 100 acres of fire-damaged wheat and woodland, a drone was used to survey the affected area. The drone completed the survey in just nine minutes, creating an interactive Ortho-mosaic map of the damaged land.
The drones were pre-programmed to fly over the affected areas autonomously, capturing geo-referenced images that were later stitched together to form an accurate, high-resolution map of the damage.
This data was then delivered to the loss adjusters and insurers within 24-48 hours, enabling rapid decision-making for compensation.
Advantages of Drones in This Case Study
The implementation of drone technology offered several key advantages:
- Speed: The drone survey was completed in just nine minutes, compared to the hours or days a manual survey would take.
- Accuracy: Drones provided centimeter-level accuracy, which was crucial for determining the extent of the damage and calculating compensation.
- Safety: Drones allowed loss adjusters and surveyors to assess the damage without entering dangerous areas, such as those still smoldering or prone to collapse.
- Cost-Effectiveness: The technology reduced the need for labor-intensive and time-consuming manual surveys, saving both time and money for farmers and insurers.
- Replanting: Swift damage assessments enabled farmers to begin the process of replanting their crops much sooner, minimizing financial losses.
Software
The drones used by Iprosurv were equipped with advanced flight planning and mapping software. These systems allowed the drones to autonomously capture overlapping images of the affected area, which were then processed using photogrammetry software to create an interactive Ortho-mosaic map.
This map provided a detailed view of the fire-damaged land and could be accessed by loss adjusters remotely.
The software also allowed for volumetric calculations and geographic information system (GIS) integration, which enabled even more precise planning and decision-making.
Data Processing
After the flight, the images captured by the drone were geo-referenced and stitched together to create a seamless, high-resolution Ortho-mosaic map.
This process was completed using specialized photogrammetry software, which ensured that the final map was both accurate and interactive.
The processed data was available within 24 hours, allowing insurers and loss adjusters to analyze the damage and make informed decisions quickly.
The map could be used to measure the area of damaged crops, assess the severity of the fire, and generate reports for both the farmer and the insurance company.