Drones offer unique capabilities in defense. One such capability is the ability to map areas using Photogrammetry. Now if you live in a super urban area, this may not apply as much, but there are still uses you can take advantage of. I’ll lay out how drones can offer insight into your situation whether you are living in a dense urban environment or a rural area.

What is photogrammetry? In simplistic terms, it is taking multiple overlapping photos with a drone and stitching them together. You can therefore take photos over a large area from low altitude, use a program to put them together in a larger picture with high resolution detail, just like a satellite map, but so much better. There are also digital 3D models that can be created. Preplanned missions can be built in the Autel app that can be executed autonomously, without interaction from the remote pilot. This comes in handy in many of the following scenarios. Also not all missions need to be stitched together. You can simply look through the individual files if time is of the essence, instead of waiting for the program to put the pieces together. This can sometimes take hours, depending on the area covered.

An example of a preplanned mission from the Autel app. Learning the ins and outs of this option is a separate lesson, and many YT tutorials are available.

A normal high end camera drone such as the DJI or Autel series of drones won’t get you perfect accuracy. You can be off by as much as a meter. For most purposes, this is just fine, unless of course you are using it for survey purposes. That won’t apply in this situation. DJI does not integrate pre-planned missions into their app, and requires third party cloud support, so another reason I don’t recommend DJI.

Scenario one: The urban environment.

In a city, a dense population can make it challenging to monitor your immediate surroundings. By using drone photogrammetry, you can regularly survey your property's perimeter from above. This data can help you detect any unusual activities or potential threats, such as unauthorized access or loitering. This can be a set it and forget it action. Use the images gathered, once stitched together into a map, and compare them to previous images.

In a city, traffic can be a significant security concern. By employing drones with photogrammetry capabilities, you can track and analyze vehicle and pedestrian traffic patterns around your location. Sudden changes or suspicious patterns can be flagged for further investigation. This can be useful in many scenarios.

High-rises and urban buildings can present unique security challenges. Photogrammetry can be used to create detailed 3D models of your building's exterior, helping you identify potential vulnerabilities, such as weak points or entryways. This information can inform your security measures and fortifications.

Scenario Two: The Rural Environment

In a rural setting, the landscape itself is a key part of your security. Photogrammetry can provide accurate topographic maps of your property, helping you identify natural features like valleys, ridges, or dense vegetation that could be used for cover by intruders. This data can guide your defensive strategies.

In rural areas, wildlife can sometimes trigger false alarms. With photogrammetry, you can set up specialized monitoring zones to differentiate between animal movements and potential intruders. This reduces the chances of unnecessary security alerts. In this case, you wouldn't need to stitch the map together, just look through the photos. Near Infrared (NIR) or thermal drones are also preferred for this activity.

If you have agricultural activities on your property, photogrammetry can be used to assess the health of crops and livestock. Anomalies in crop growth or changes in livestock behavior can be detected early, helping you respond to potential threats or issues affecting your self-sufficiency. This is done using the UV light index, and requires one of the thermal drones mentioned in the other previous blog. This can be done with a normal RGB camera but it is less accurate. It will work if that’s all you have access to.

These are just general uses, and should be tailored to your situation, as they vary so widely, it would be impossible to nail down all of them. If you can think of different uses of automated missions and photogrammetry, please comment below.

In Liberty

Integrating Drones into Your Self Defense and Security Plan Part 2: Photogrammetry