The drones take off in Galicia and they do it hand in hand with some of the most representative sectors of the Galician economy. The smaritime alvamento, forest surveillance or vineyard control are some of the tasks around which a drone ecosystem that in Galicia they still have the audiovisual industry as a gravitational center.
And it is that more than half of the 343 drone operators that are currently registered in Galicia have among their main activities the «Photography, filming and aerial surveys». This is the case of the Nigran company Drongal, specialized in the production of corporate and advertising videos or documentaries. Also from Codetel, with headquarters in Bergondo and offices in Lugo, Asturias or Madrid, which complements this line of business with energy audit services and telecommunications installation and maintenance services.
Initiatives for the agroforestry sector
It is precisely in this area of facility maintenance and control that a significant number of initiatives are also heading. One of them is Gophytovid, which seeks to optimize vineyard management. Through a drone he manages to classify the vegetation in different areas to later design another map in which he fixes what amount of phytosanitary is needed in each area. In this way, the environmental impact, the risk to people and the economic costs of these treatments will be reduced.
Also in the agroforestry sector the technological solution is framed Xestal. This project, promoted by Galician firms Aeromedia, Cerna, Balidea and Greenalia, in collaboration with the Technological Institute of Galicia (ITG) and the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), seeks to optimize the management of forest resources. And it is that through unmanned aircraft measurements of forest mass are made through which questions such as the species of the trees, their diameter or height can be detailed.
Drones also for water
In addition to these initiatives, Galicia also hosts a drone project whose main mission is to intervene in cases of maritime accidents. The initiative is carried out by the consortium of Imatia Innovation, Cartogalicia and Industrias Ferri. The ship’s sailors have a smartwatch (smart watch) and, if the fall into the sea is detected, the device sends a signal that reaches a platform that, immediately afterwards, sends a group of drones to carry out the rescue intervention.
These three companies are also developing another dron marino in charge of analyzing the quality of the waters that it plows and that was presented last year. This is an initiative similar to the one Indra launched in collaboration with the Galician women Sixtema Y Adantia to offer real-time information on the different water parameters through sample collection in rivers and coastal areas.
The advancement of the drone sector in Galicia has also led to some public entities having chosen to personally register in the registry of operators authorized by the Spanish Agency for Aviation Safety (AESA). It is the case of City of Dodro or, for example, Ferrol firefighters. The latter have a drone with a thermal camera, thus allowing the detection of heat sources, which facilitates the extinction of fire.
Without a license as their own operators, from the City council of Sanxenxo They also opted last summer to hire a drone service to control the capacity on the beaches in times of Covid-19. It is an initiative similar to that of the Malaga municipality of Mijas, who resorted to the Galician firm Aeromedia to strengthen their control systems for compliance with sanitary measures.
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