Darrell Leines was host and brought us speaker Eric Taipale , the CEO of Sentera, a Richfield firm that designs and engineers drones and drone sensors and software that provide valuable information to industry, agriculture, and public safety personnel. During Darrell's vocational we learned that he had worked for Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and other firms on drone programs; along the way he met Eric. Sentera's business is primarily in two areas: agriculture and infrastructure inspection. Agronomists use drones aerial imagery capabilities for early detection of pests, weeds, and crop health; they can see every leaf on each plant. Drones are used to improve safety in industry by providing visual images of infrastructure and geography to limit climbing and danger while doing inspections. Similarly, drones are used in search and rescue operations to quickly provide important information while limiting personnel risk. Drones are also increasingly being used to create 3D modeling of infrastructure to create models. Eric shared his views that the industry needs to be regulated to keep airspace safe. Thank you Darrell and Eric for an interesting peek into drone aviation.
