As an insurance technology company, we see the weird & the wonderful in the drone industry. Each operation is different, and that is the beauty of the drone: its application is so broad, variable and useful. Despite its variance, drone operations need to have their commonalities. In order to operate safely, best practices need to be established industry-wide. One of the most important practices to keep in mind is drone battery management. Although it is not easy to distinguish operator error from software error, we, along with our underwriters at QBE, have had a couple hairy claims, which have arguably been through human error.
DJI, the world’s leading manufacturer of drones, supplies more than 80% of the market. Through this massive scale, they’ve developed some seriously advanced technology through the drones and supplemental applications. The DJI GO App allows operators to make a multitude of changes to their flying experience. From camera angle to flying settings and even drone battery management, the app truly enhances the act of flying. An interesting note to make is that of the low-battery threshold. The app allows the user to change the warning threshold from 15-50%, depending on preferences. Even though this tailors the flying experience, it may cause headaches for operators and insurers alike when the battery threshold is too low, and an incident occurs.
As insurers immersed within the drone industry, we recommend best practice. Following best practice severely reduces the likelihood of crashes, whilst creating an optimal flying experience. For optimal drone battery management, we recommend that the low battery threshold remain above a minimum of 30%. As a further best practice, we recommend replacing the battery every 18 months, or 300 cycles, whichever comes first.
At Precision Autonomy, we aim to create the safest conditions possible for operators. It is our mission to safeguard the adoption of autonomous vehicles into society. We work with forward thinking insurance companies, to provide comprehensive drone insurance solutions.
For more updates on drone safety & insurance explanations, stay tuned to the Blog. Are you interested in Insurance for your fleet? Get a quote for our Drone Insurance here.